Donovan Clingan is getting a familiar face in Portland.
Samson Johnson, the former UConn center, signed with the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday, according to his RBA Showcase agency. Johnson also confirmed the move on his Instagram story.
The news came shortly after Portland’s NBA G League affiliate, the Rip City Remix, said Friday that it had acquired Johnson’s player rights in a trade with the Noblesville Boom. That deal sent Andrew Carr, Jamiya Neal and a 2027 second-round pick to Noblesville.
Johnson, a 6-foot-10 center, went undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft after four seasons at UConn. He landed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Indiana Pacers in June, but was waived four months later and moved on to Noblesville, Indiana’s G League affiliate.
There, he proved efficient around the basket, finishing last season with a 70.3 field-goal percentage at the rim, the best mark in the G League among players who appeared in at least 30 games. He also averaged 4.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.
His path to UConn stretched across continents. Johnson is from Togo and moved from Senegal to Florida and then to New Jersey to chase his basketball future, eventually linking up with future UConn teammate Adama Sanogo at The Patrick School. During a COVID-affected recruiting process that was largely virtual, Johnson committed to UConn in November 2020 and joined Rahsool Diggins and Jordan Hawkins in the Huskies’ 2021 class.
Johnson’s early years in Storrs were quiet. He played sparingly in his first two seasons, including during UConn’s 2023 national championship run. His role grew the following year as Clingan’s backup while the Huskies repeated as NCAA Tournament champions, and Clingan later went No. 7 overall in the NBA Draft before developing into one of the league’s top rebounders.
As a senior, Johnson finally stepped into the starting lineup, though he split time almost evenly with Michigan transfer Tarris Reed Jr. at center. Even with the shared minutes, he still finished among the Big East’s best big men, leading the league in offensive rating while also ranking in the top five in offensive rebounding rate, block percentage and field-goal percentage. Fouls, though, remained part of the package.
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