The Portland Trail Blazers look better and better for going with Donovan Clingan at No. 7 in the 2024 NBA Draft.
That choice already carried plenty of weight when Portland made it, but the gap between Clingan and the player who went one pick later, Rob Dillingham, has only grown. Clingan, the UConn center and two-time NCAA national champion, is already being talked about as one of the best players in that draft class just two seasons into his NBA career.
Dillingham, meanwhile, has gone in the opposite direction. After two concerningly unproductive seasons, he was traded to the Charlotte Hornets, who recently waived the former No. 8 overall pick. Whether another team takes a shot on his offensive upside and draft pedigree is still an open question, and the possibility that his NBA run could already be over at 21 says plenty about how badly that selection has gone.
Portland was high on Clingan before the draft, and that evaluation looks even sharper now. The Atlanta Hawks were reportedly considering the UConn big man with the No. 1 overall pick before choosing French wing Zaccharie Risacher. Dillingham, by contrast, was the kind of trade candidate the Blazers were wise to pass on, especially with concerns already sitting around their potential starting backcourt after Ja Morant and Damian Lillard.
The Blazers also got real production out of their actual pick. Clingan earned All-Rookie Second Team honors, becoming the first Blazer since Damian Lillard to land an All-Rookie selection. Portland then bought out Deandre Ayton, opening the door for Clingan to start in his second season, and he took full advantage of it with a breakout campaign.
He logged more minutes in the starting role, showed better conditioning, hit and attempted more three-pointers, and most importantly, became the anchor for a playoff team in the Pacific Northwest.
That kind of impact has already pushed Clingan up the 2024 draft rankings. Dillingham’s fast slide only makes the Blazers’ call look smarter, and by a widening margin.
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Blazers Suddenly Have A Ja Morant Question They Cant Ignore
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