Donovan Clingan - 2024 NBA Draft Prospect

[timvp]

https://www.spurstalk.com/donovan-cl...aft-deep-dive/

[DPG21920]

Im open to virtually all scenarios. But drafting a Center at 4 that isnt Sarr (and even then Im largely against it) is my one thing I really dont want to see for the reasons stated here. At pick 8? I can live with it. Not pick 4.

Spurs want to get another pick or trade back and get a center (wont be Clingan or Sarr) I can even live with that. But taking a center at 4 would be rough in the moment. Of course, if it works out really well then who cares, but it will be a big bet from the FO to do something like that.

[spurraider21]

one of my acceptable picks at #8 overall. at the very least he would provide 20-25 minutes of rock solid backup center play (rim protection when wemby sat was a massive issue last year). and at best, either Clingan's hypothetical shot develops, or Wemby's perimeter skills continue to improve to the point where he can flourish playing alongside a traditional big (something that did not seem to work too well last year, either with collins or barlow). his excellent high post passing could make some for awesome offense with wemby

i'd generally be disappointed if we pass on Dillingham for him, but to me he's in that tier of player that i'd be ok with drafting at 8 just because he seems like a fairly sure thing

i wouldnt like taking him at 4, but if the top 3 picks are Risacher/Sarr/Sheppard, and we wind up with Clingan - Dillingham, that would be acceptable to me (id basically imagine we took dilly at 4 and clingan at 8)

[NASpurs]

Either he'll be a great addition to the team or he'll be a great asset for a future trade.

[Chinook]

I'm not worried about Clingan/Wemby, because I don't think it's all that important to never play Victor at PF. He doesn't have to ALWAYS be at his most free offensively. Giving him a variety of high-quality teammates would be great for his development. Ultimately, Wemby developing is the thing that matters, not whether the team they put around him this year works from a contending standpoint. Plus drafting Don would increase the likelihood of Collins being dealt, which is basically a universal good in terms of them bringing in a player who fits better for that salary space. I also second SR21's stance that Clingan/Dillingham would sit well with me, as would a number of other scenarios.

I'm more concerned about Clingan's and Sochan's fit. As the 20-25 MPG talk suggested, Wemby would be taking a lot of the backup PF minutes if the Spurs drafted Clingan. That means that Jeremy and Donovan would be likely to spend a lot of time together. Unless Sochan has completely revamped his shot or Clingan's touch beyond the arc is real, that seems hard to work.

Jones, Wesley/Branham/Champangie, Johnson, Sochan, Clingan feels like a questionable unit. It could be good defensively if Wesley develops or Champ settles in. But offensively, it's sort of dead

[onechance87]

one of my acceptable picks at #8 overall. at the very least he would provide 20-25 minutes of rock solid backup center play (rim protection when wemby sat was a massive issue last year). and at best, either Clingan's hypothetical shot develops, or Wemby's perimeter skills continue to improve to the point where he can flourish playing alongside a traditional big (something that did not seem to work too well last year, either with collins or barlow). his excellent high post passing could make some for awesome offense with wemby

i'd generally be disappointed if we pass on Dillingham for him, but to me he's in that tier of player that i'd be ok with drafting at 8 just because he seems like a fairly sure thing

i wouldnt like taking him at 4, but if the top 3 picks are Risacher/Sarr/Sheppard, and we wind up with Clingan - Dillingham, that would be acceptable to me (id basically imagine we took dilly at 4 and clingan at 8)

yup...If we take clingan,The second pick should be a really good offensive player.And also hoping sochan improves his 3 point schooting as well
could make this work.

[Uriel]

Clingan is a great player. Let's hope GM's in the top 3 recognize that.

[spurraider21]

Clingan is a great player. Let's hope GM's in the top 3 recognize that.

Also this. While i do like Clingan, the best bet for Risacher, my top guy, falling to 4 lies with Clingan going top 2

[exstatic]

When the dust clears in ten years or so, Clingan will have the best career of the 2024 center drafteees.

[The Truth #6]

From what I read in this review: Can't shoot the 3. Nor has great post moves. Smart player. Great low post defender.

Sounds like a limited player in the NBA who is more suited for the college game. I'm not discounting college les but feels like he's graded higher than he should be because of getting lots of media exposure.

The Yak parallel makes sense. A better rebounder but worse perimeter defender.

I don't know. I'm sounding harsh but he likely has to change his game with added skills to really succeed. Or needs to be on a smart team that's already good, like the Celtics.

I'd rather have Edey who has post moves if looking for a big slow dude.

[spurraider21]

I'm not worried about Clingan/Wemby, because I don't think it's all that important to never play Victor at PF. He doesn't have to ALWAYS be at his most free offensively. Giving him a variety of high-quality teammates would be great for his development. Ultimately, Wemby developing is the thing that matters, not whether the team they put around him this year works from a contending standpoint. Plus drafting Don would increase the likelihood of Collins being dealt, which is basically a universal good in terms of them bringing in a player who fits better for that salary space. I also second SR21's stance that Clingan/Dillingham would sit well with me, as would a number of other scenarios.

I'm more concerned about Clingan's and Sochan's fit. As the 20-25 MPG talk suggested, Wemby would be taking a lot of the backup PF minutes if the Spurs drafted Clingan. That means that Jeremy and Donovan would be likely to spend a lot of time together. Unless Sochan has completely revamped his shot or Clingan's touch beyond the arc is real, that seems hard to work.

Jones, Wesley/Branham/Champangie, Johnson, Sochan, Clingan feels like a questionable unit. It could be good defensively if Wesley develops or Champ settles in. But offensively, it's sort of dead

sochan was ok as a rookie, to the point where his sop re season felt disappointing, and he spent much of that season starting and playing alongside poeltl. obviously sochan needs to continue to work on his shooting, but tbh im not drafting around Sochan until he proves he's a good starter and a core piece we can comfortably project will still be on the team 3 years out

[scott]

Rather than a Top10 pick on Clingan, I'd rather just sneakily move into the back of the 1st and grab Filipowski.

Edit: but if I'm sneaking into the late first, I want Tyler Smith first

[spurraider21]

From what I read in this review: Can't shoot the 3. Nor has great post moves. Smart player. Great low post defender.

Sounds like a limited player in the NBA who is more suited for the college game. I'm not discounting college les but feels like he's graded higher than he should be because of getting lots of media exposure.

The Yak parallel makes sense. A better rebounder but worse perimeter defender.

I don't know. I'm sounding harsh but he likely has to change his game with added skills to really succeed. Or needs to be on a smart team that's already good, like the Celtics.

I'd rather have Edey who has post moves if looking for a big slow dude.

to me the key differences are that on both ends, clingan is more mobile. i know the combine numbers said one thing, but their tape says another. maybe its because clingan is such a faster processor than edey that he is quicker to make his decision and get moving, whereas in pre determined drills that gap doesnt show up. but either way, clingan is much better movement wise.

also, clingan feels like somebody that can blend into an existing team by just playing his role, kind of like how the Mavs centers do, or how Poeltl did with us. good screen/roll stuff, solid passing, etc, whereas Edey is not as comfortable doing those "connector" things and kind of just has to "be the system" such that when he's on the floor the offense runs through him. yes that can be efficient when its working (not unlike Boban's NBA career where his advanced stats and production were quite good), but also means you have to build the second unit around him, making him a pretty heavy (no pun intended) investment.

maybe Edey ends up being boban with better conditioning and a little more movement on defense, and hey that could be quite good. but in the modern nba, thats not really an archetype that has seen success. maybe edey is good enough to overcome the era he's in. clingan feels like a safer bet to me to find a role and be effective in it

the other concession here is that Edey is a much better FT shooter than Clingan, so when people talk about Clingan potentially having a jump shot, Edey has potential in that dept as well. though with Edey's main skill being back to the basket scoring, its unclear how vital that actually will be for him.

[scott]

Is Clingan projected as a significant offensive upgrade to Walker Kessler? Their college stats are shockingly comparable, with Kessler having superior rebounding and block stats.

If Walker Kessler was in this draft and his current NBA outcome was 100% known - I still wouldn't take him with 4 or 8.

[exstatic]

Is Clingan projected as a significant offensive upgrade to Walker Kessler? Their college stats are shockingly comparable, with Kessler having superior rebounding and block stats.

If Walker Kessler was in this draft and his current NBA outcome was 100% known - I still wouldn't take him with 4 or 8.

I think it’s a weak C class, and that his median outcomes, the most likely tail to hit, are better than the other Cs.

[spurraider21]

Is Clingan projected as a significant offensive upgrade to Walker Kessler? Their college stats are shockingly comparable, with Kessler having superior rebounding and block stats.

If Walker Kessler was in this draft and his current NBA outcome was 100% known - I still wouldn't take him with 4 or 8.

he's a better passer imo (tho not a playmaker. think Poeltl)

he's also just bigger. at the combine, without shoes, Clingan was 1.5 inches taller, 2.5 inch longer wingspan, 2 inch longer standing reach, and weighed 26 more pounds

[AFBlue]

Odd fit next to Wemby. Would pass at 4. If available at 8, I'd use as trade leverage for future or real assets.

[stnick2261]

It’s been said a couple times already, but if he is there at 8, I would take him. Being older and more ready, he could have early production that turns into a trade during the 2025 draft.

[HankChinaski]

One thing about Edey is I think he only started playing basketball his junior year of high school. Compound that with his development in college and he has shown quite an impressive growth each season in college. He appears to be a guy that puts in a lot of work on his game.

I really like Edey I just wish spurs find a way to get a pick later in the draft to grab him if he is still on the board with their assets. I think he would be amazing as the first big off the bench. I still think he has plenty room to grow as a player.

[Ariel]

A throw back center who doesn't move super well on the perimeter, shoots about as well as Poeltl, weighs almost 300 lb and has an extensive injury history, is not a good use of a top 10 pick. The only way I would be ok with taking Clingan, is if the Spurs main targets at 4 were gone and he's selected to trade back or out for additional assets.

[scott]

he's a better passer imo (tho not a playmaker. think Poeltl)

he's also just bigger. at the combine, without shoes, Clingan was 1.5 inches taller, 2.5 inch longer wingspan, 2 inch longer standing reach, and weighed 26 more pounds

But despite that size, Clingan didn't use that in ways that you would expect. His REB/40 min (despite what I said earlier, I was looking at nominal stats not per 40) are only slightly better than Kessler's (+0.5) but Kessler put up 7.1 blks/40 versus 4.4 for Clingan. The note on passing is certainly important though.

It's just weird to me that the two top centers in this draft, who are even talked about going #1 and #2, have pretty reasonable direct comps in the league (Duren and Kessler), both of which are pretty mid, tbh.

[Splits]

Locked on Spurs profiled him today. Per usual Garcia and Jack Thompson have a variety of hole takes (i.e comp to Brook Lopez) but if you looking for some Spurs/Clingan fodder/porn waste 30 minutes of your life:

[Dejounte]

Without watching much of this guy, the only way I’d draft him is if his offensive game resembled Tim Duncan by even a little bit but most of his shots are just around the basket. No post up game, mid range pop, nothing.

I do believe this type of center (if that player is a top option) is what gets you deep in the playoffs, not those lanky unicorn types that people think are taking over the NBA just because they can shoot threes. Wemby is the exception to this rule because… there will simply not be another Wemby. We got lucky with him. And much of Wemby’s game became more of a post up center as the season progressed.

[spurraider21]

But despite that size, Clingan didn't use that in ways that you would expect. His REB/40 min (despite what I said earlier, I was looking at nominal stats not per 40) are only slightly better than Kessler's (+0.5) but Kessler put up 7.1 blks/40 versus 4.4 for Clingan. The note on passing is certainly important though.

It's just weird to me that the two top centers in this draft, who are even talked about going #1 and #2, have pretty reasonable direct comps in the league (Duren and Kessler), both of which are pretty mid, tbh.

sarr is a higher ceiling/lower floor prospect than duren was. think he's more athletic and shows some perimeter-ish skills that duren doesnt really have, but not remotely developed enough to be reliable right now. duren's scoring is largely limited to the restricted area, whereas sarr has some face up game, short turnaround shot like sochan has flashed, etc. sarr's ball-handling right now only really shows itself in transition though.

id also say he's lower floor because he's not as strong, doesnt really have great hands despite having the rim-running physical profile

[spurraider21]

Locked on Spurs profiled him today. Per usual Garcia and Jack Thompson have a variety of hole takes (i.e comp to Brook Lopez) but if you looking for some Spurs/Clingan fodder/porn waste 30 minutes of your life:

lol if youre going to make 30+ minute draft profile vids you definitely need some freaking game footage to make your point

otherwise why bother with the youtube component? just release it on spotify or whatevs