Memphis Grizzlies should consider trading for Donovan Clingan

The NBA Draft Lottery took place Sunday afternoon in what may have been one of the most shocking lotteries of all time. The Atlanta Hawks, the team with the fourth lowest probability of landing the first overall pick, went home with the gold. The Detroit Pistons, who finished with one of the worst records in NBA history, landed the fifth overall pick for the third straight year. And the Memphis Grizzlies, who had one of, if not the most injury-plagued seasons of all time, only landed the ninth overall pick.

While it’s certainly a disappointing result, the Grizzlies still add a lottery pick to a core consisting of Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., Marcus Smart, Desmond Bane, Vince Williams Jr. and GG Jackson, and have the option of packing the choice to either move or enter the lottery. They should choose to do the latter, specifically, by trading up in the lottery to draft Donovan Clingan, who is projected to go seventh overall to the Portland Trailblazers. Many teams will look to trade out of the lottery in such a weak draft, so a trade is certainly feasible.

Clingan to the Grizzlies is one of the best hypothetical picks in this year’s draft. After trading Steven Adams, Memphis is in dire need of scouting and rebounding at the center position. And outside of Zach Edey, no prospect offers a better combination of the two than Clingan. The importance of the Adams selection for Ja Morant in particular should not be underestimated: since arriving for the 2021-22 season, Morant has averaged 31.1 points per 75 possessions on 57.8% shooting. true shooting with Adams on the court, which drops to 27.2 points per 75 possessions on 55.4% True Shooting with him off the court. Adams’ strength as a screener, his sense of recontrol, and Gortat’s screens all made life much easier for Morant as a scorer.

While Clingan isn’t quite on Adams’ level as a controller, his strength and sense of control and recontrol are powerful for a 20-year-old and would fill a void for Memphis. His strong defensive rebounding rate of 23.4% and 13.8% on the offensive glass in his second season at UConn would also be key alongside Jackson Jr.’s poor rebounding.

Clingan and Jackson Jr. also complement each other perfectly on defense. Clingan’s better pick-and-roll defense, where his drop defense is universal and he has the ability to stretch and play at the screener level, would reduce Jackson Jr.’s defensive workload in years past , where his other big player was Jonas Valanciunas or Adams, he was sometimes overextended because they allowed one breakdown too many.

The inability of Valanciunas and Adams to defend pick-and-rolls well led Jackson Jr. to defend those plays more than he should. While he is good as a pick-and-roll defender, his optimal role is as a “roamer”, guarding the team’s worst shooter or corner shooter, and moving his man away to protect the paint when a defensive breakdown occurs on the perimeter. Clingan’s pick-and-roll excellence would allow Jackson Jr. to play better and excel in that role – and having him as a backcourt defender would allow Clingan to experiment with more aggressive coverages knowing that Jackson Jr. supports him. With Marcus Smart and Donovan Clingan as the primary tier of defense and a DPOY as the second tier of defense, the Grizzlies would immediately compete for a top-five defense.

The main concern for Clingan would be his offensive versatility – or lack thereof. He’s a great play finisher with an unspectacular touch who can’t shoot. Jackson Jr. should improve his shooting to make double lineups with Clingan more viable. Since his sophomore season in which he shot 39.4% on 10.6 threes per 100 possessions, he has only shot 32.6% on 8.5 threes per 100 possessions. over his last 4 seasons.

Clingan could provide great value as a backup right away, and should Jackson Jr. improve his shooting, a long-time starter. He brings rim protection, pick-and-roll defense, screening, finishing and some passing, which Memphis could use. If they can find a team willing to trade or move out of the lottery, the Grizzlies should seriously consider putting together a package to trade and draft Donovan Clingan.

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