The Atlanta Hawks have been on the hunt for a pick since winning the NBA Draft Lottery about a month ago, and much of the buzz surrounding the selection has been about French prospects Alex Sarr and Zachary Lisacher. Sarr was the front-runner immediately after the draft lottery, but Lisacher has been gaining momentum in recent weeks. There's one other player worth mentioning: center Donovan Clingan from the University of Connecticut.
Clingan had a great season at the University of Connecticut, finishing the season with a strong showing in the NCAA Tournament. He'll be a good fit for Atlanta as he's a great defensive player, has a great shot-blocking presence and is a strong rebounder. As for player comparisons, ESPN's Jeremy Woo made a very strong high-end player comparison of Clingan in a recent article:
High End: Rudy Gobert and late-career Brook Lopez
Low End: Walker Kessler
“NBA Clingan supporters see him as a potential top-tier defensive center on the same level as Gobert if he stays healthy and continues to improve physically. His impressive size — 7'3″ with shoes on and arm span of nearly 7'7″ — gives him a unique presence. Even if he never reaches those heights defensively, Clingan projects to be a more versatile offensive player than Gobert, and if he improves his 3-point shooting, he could play like Lopez, who transformed into a superior floor spacer and top defensive center over the course of his 16-year career.”
At worst, I feel Clingan should get somewhere where Kessler is now (and after just two seasons, his development is certainly not over) as a massive defensive big who can impact the game in drop coverage and protect the paint.”
If Clingan has a career similar to Gobert's, he's worthy of being the No. 1 pick. Even if he turns out to be more of a Lopez type of player, that might be a good choice for some teams. Lopez has been one of the best defenders over the last five or six years and can stretch the floor with his shooting ability.
If Clingan turns out to be anything like Kessler, it will be hard to justify taking him first overall. Kessler is still early in his career and has a lot of work to do offensively, but he is a very good defender.
Clingan may be the draft's best defensive prospect based on his paint presence and shot-blocking ability, but there are big question marks on the offensive end.
His 7-foot-7 wingspan and shot-blocking presence in the paint would instantly strengthen the Hawks defense, but how will he protect the perimeter? Is he agile enough to guard wing players and ball-handlers in space? That's something he'll have to answer for any team. Clingan has been compared to four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, and they have some similarities. What kind of offensive threat will Donovan Clingan be? He was seen working on honing his 3-point shot, but he didn't put in as much effort at the University of Connecticut. He can still hone his shot, but he'll have to do it in a place that isn't an empty gym. He's also a poor free-throw shooter, so that would be a concern if teams were to try to put him on the free-throw line in games.
Clingan seems like a dark horse at No. 1, but there's enough buzz about him that we can't completely ignore him.
Sarr and Zachary Lisacher have been the most talked about top picks in recent weeks, but according to ESPN's Jonathan Givony, University of Connecticut center Donovan Clingan is also still on the list.
“Clingan is on a roll heading into June, having impressed in combine drills, one-on-ones and at his pro day, showing glimpses of intriguing perimeter shooting that many scouts feel will be a part of his game in the near future. His size is elite (as we already knew it) at 7'3″ with shoes on, 282 pounds, a 7'7″ wingspan and a 9'7” standing reach.
However, the draft lottery didn't favor him much, and he may end up a little lower than his Big Board ranking, as teams with established starters at the center position ranked him 3rd, 4th, and 5th. It wouldn't be surprising to see teams like the Portland Trail Blazers or Memphis Grizzlies move up on draft day to try to acquire a future starting center. However, there are rumors that the Hawks' No. 1 base has some Clingan fans, which means there's still a lot to go on between now and June 26th.
ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski was discussing high draft prospects with Givony on an episode of his podcast, and Wojnarowski suggested Clingan could very well be a top-three pick, which would obviously mean he's the No. 1 pick for Atlanta.
“I think there's an element to Clingan's game that we didn't see at Connecticut. Since high school, he's spent a lot of time behind the 3-point line honing that game. If you watch him train and practice, you see him swinging around the arc and then back again to shoot. He's not a great free-throw shooter, but there's no reason to think he can't get better as a free-throw shooter. There's nothing wrong with his stroke and I feel like he's going to get better. His dominance at Connecticut, his production, his improvement, his lateral quickness, his resilience, his ability to cover a lot of ground, we saw that in the NCAA Tournament. Illinois literally couldn't get close to the basket while he was on the court, and that's something we saw all year.
As teams met with him and got more information, they knew the information about him, what kind of teammate he was, what kind of leader he was, what kind of empathy he had with his teammates, but just talking to the teams that got to spend time with him, everyone around him knew that meeting him would only increase his evaluation. I think he's only going to go to the team that's selected and spend more time with that organization. That would definitely favor him to go first, second with Washington, or third with the Rockets.”
I really like Clingan, but if the Hawks consider him the best prospect in the draft, they should step back and acquire more assets before acquiring him.
