The Portland Trail Blazers introduced Donovan Clingan to the fans Saturday, June 29, after the 7-foot-2 center was taken with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Head coach Chauncey Billups reiterated general manager Joe Cronin’s excitement about getting Clingan, believing it can change the efficiency of Portland’s defense this season.
The Blazers gave up many easy buckets in the paint, but after averaging 2.5 blocks per game last season for the national champions in Connecticut, Clingan is ready to change that theme for Portland.
“Something my mom always told me was defense wins ball games, offense sells tickets,” Clingan said. “You gotta play great defense in order to win games, and I wanna win games. I’ll take a block off the backboard over a dunk any day.”
“All y’all know how I feel about defense and being a competitor, and he’s both of those things,” Billups said. “I love the fact that he’s been coached really hard by coach (Dan) Hurley, but more than anything he’s been coached well. He’s just a winner, he’s got a winning spirit, he’s got winning habits.”
Clingan, of course, won back-to-back titles at UConn, but he also won Connecticut state championships his junior and senior years in high school.
Needless to say, the Blazers still don’t have title aspirations heading to the 2024-25 season, but Clingan is ready to take on the challenge of finding ways to get there.
“I want to learn every day and help this organization build from the bottom to the top,” Clingan said. “It’s a lot of hard work, it’s not going to be easy. I’m willing to learn, I’m willing to do whatever it takes for this team to win.”
Clingan said previously he wants to be the most coachable player on the team. And oftentimes, coachability responds to curiosity or asking questions.
The biggest question around Clingan coming to the NBA is his offensive ability. The defensive prowess has been proven, but can he adapt to a league where the big men are expected to be on the perimeter more than ever?
Cronin said on draft night that he thinks Clingan can become a good shooter and said the big man’s passing is underrated. Billups echoed those beliefs, while Clingan knows he’s ready to prove he can do it all on the court.
“I feel like first year is coming in and trying to have an impact any way I possibly can,” Clingan said. “Whether that’s on the defensive end protecting the rim at a high level, being impactful in the ball screen game. And offensively, being able to knock down the 3-ball, space the floor and my playmaking and passing abilities.”
Billups and Cronin both said Clingan surprised them with his shooting ability during the individual workout they had with him. It was a surprise since Clingan only attempted eight 3-pointers over his two years with UConn.
As for why Clingan only took eight deep balls, the reason is what helped sell Clingan to Billups.
“He gave me one of the best answers a kid gave me,” Billups said. “I asked him when I was interviewing him, ‘If you’re such a great shooter why didn’t you shoot more?’ He said, ‘I just wanted to do what coach needed me to do to win.’ To me, that’s just a winner.”
Clingan joins a center room that includes Deandre Ayton and Robert Williams III, giving Portland some strong depth at the five.
Cronin said Ayton has been responsive to drafting Clingan and wants to help any way he can for the rookie, meanwhile Clingan praised Ayton’s game at the introduction press conference.
As for how it’ll all mesh, Billups is still working it out. But the head coach sees plenty of options for how to space the floor, including using Ayton and Clingan at the same time referring to tall ball lineups at Memphis, Denver and Cleveland.
“There’s a lot of teams that play really big,” Billups said. “I’m willing to try things, have (Clingan) and DA out on the floor together, we’ll see, it’s gonna be a lot of fun. The versatility that we’ll have, the size now that we’ll have.”
Up next will be the NBA Summer League for Portland, which begins at 6 p.m. July 13 when the Blazers take on San Antonio in Las Vegas.
Like all draft picks, Portland and Clingan hope Summer League can be the start of a long career between the two parties, and a successful one.
Clingan has proven to be a winner at each level he’s reached, and he hopes to produce slam dunk — or should I say monster block — at the NBA level.
“I’m just really excited to battle against the best,” Clingan said. “When you try to prove yourself as one of the best in the sport, you have to go up against the best. I want to be able to go out there and compete against the best and try to help my team win.
“At the end of the day that’s the only thing that means anything to me is winning. It’s not the points, it’s not the rebounds, it’s my team won and your team lost.”
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