2024 NBA Draft: Potential No. 1 Pick For Atlanta Receives Player Comp to Four-Time Defensive Player Of the Year

The Atlanta Hawks have been on the clock since they won the NBA Draft Lottery nearly a month ago and a lot of the conversation surrounding the pick has been about French prospects Alex Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher. Sarr was the early favorite immediately after the draft lottery, but Risacher has picked up a lot of steam over the past couple of weeks. There is one other player that deserves some mention as well and that is UConn center Donovan Clingan.

Clingan had a fantastic season at UConn and ended it with a great run in the NCAA Tournament. He is terrific on defense and has an incredible shot-blocking presence, as well as being a strong rebounder, things that would fit well in Atlanta. In terms of player comps, ESPN's Jeremy Woo had a very strong high-end player comp for Clingan in a recent article:

High end: Rudy Gobert and late-career Brook Lopez

Low end: Walker Kessler

"Clingan's advocates around the NBA view him as a potential top-flight defensive center in the realm of Gobert, presuming he can stay healthy and continue to improve his body. His elite measurables, at 7-foot-3 in shoes with a nearly 7-foot-7 wingspan, give him a unique physical presence. Even if he doesn't reach those heights on defense, Clingan projects to be a more versatile offensive player than Gobert, and if his 3-point shot develops, he could function somewhat like Lopez, who turned himself into a quality floor-spacer and top defensive center midway through his 16-year career.

At worst, it feels like Clingan should end up somewhere around where Kessler is right now (and granted, after just two seasons, his development is far from over), as a huge defensive big who can impact the game in drop coverage and protect the paint."

If Clingan has a career anywhere near as good as Gobert, he is well worth the No.1 pick. Even if he turns out to be more like Lopez, that could be preferable to some teams. Lopez has been one of the best defenders over the past 5-6 years and can stretch the floor with his shooting ability.

If Clingan turns out to be more like Kessler, it would be hard to justify using the No. 1 pick on him. Even though Kessler is still in the early phases of his career, he still has a ways to go in his development on offense, but is a really good defender.

Clingan might be the most defensive-ready prospect in this draft in terms of paint presence and shot-blocking ability, but his offensive game is a huge question mark.

His 7-7 wingspan and shot-blocking presence in the paint would immediately boost the Hawks's defense, but how would he guard the perimeter? Is he quick enough to guard wing players and ball handlers in space? That is something that he still has to answer for any team. Clingan has drawn comparisons to four-time defensive player of the year Rudy Gobert and they have some similarities. What kind of offensive threat would Donovan Clingan be? He has been shown trying to work on developing his three-point shot, but he did not do that much at UConn. He can still develop his shot, but he will have to do it in a place that isn't an empty gym. He is also a poor free throw shooter and that would be a concern if teams try to force him to go to the line in games.

Clingan seems to be the darkhorse pick at No. 1, but there has been enough chatter about him to not discount him completely.

Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher have been the most talked about for the top pick in recent weeks but according to ESPN's Jonathan Givony, UConn center Donovan Clingan is still in play:

"Clingan has momentum going into June, as he made a strong impression in the drills portion of the combine, private interviews and his pro day, where he dropped intriguing glimpses of perimeter shooting that many scouts feel will be part of his game in the not-too-distant future. His measurements -- 7-3 in shoes, 282 pounds with a 7-7 wingspan and outrageous 9-7 standing reach are elite (as we already knew).

The draft lottery did not do him too many favors, though, slating teams with entrenched starters at the center position at Nos. 3, 4 and 5, which might drop him a little further than his big-board ranking indicates. It would not be surprising to see teams such as the Portland Trail Blazers or the Memphis Grizzlies try to move up on draft night to snag their starting center of the future. There is some chatter, however, that Clingan has fans among the Hawks' constituency at No. 1, meaning there's a lot left to be played out between now and June 26"

In an episode of his podcast, ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski was discussing prospects at the top of the draft with Givony, and Wojnarowski suggested that Clingan is firmly in play to go in the top three, which obviously means he is in play for the No. 1 pick to Atlanta:

"I think with Clingan, there are elements to his game that you did not see at UConn that have been there and he has been someone that going back to his high school days, spent a lot of time, behind the three-point line and developing that game. You go watch him workout and you watch him practice and him moving all the way around the arc and back again and shooting the ball. He has not been a great free throw shooter, but there is no reason to believe that he is not going to be a better free throw shooter, there is nothing wrong with his stroke and it feels like it is a place that he is going to improve. His dominance for UConn, what he did, the improvement, the lateral quickness, his ability to recover and cover so much ground, you saw the NCAA Tournament, I mean Illinois literally could not get anywhere near the basket with him on the floor, but you saw it all year.

As teams are meeting him and getting their....they know what the intel is on him, what kind of teammate he has been, the kind of leader he was, the kind of empathy that he has for teammates, that has been known, but you just talk to teams who started to get to spend time with him and anybody around him knew that that was only going to enhance his stock when they get to meet with him and I think he will only go to select teams and spend even more time in their organization, certainly that is only going to help his case at No. 1, No. 2 with Washington, or perhaps even No. 3 with the Rockets."

I like Clingan a lot, but if the Hawks think he is the best prospect in the draft, they should try to move back and pick up more assets and then take him.