Now that we know the order of the 2024 NBA Draft, we can better predict where players like UConn’s Donovan Clingan will play next season.
After winning back to back NCAA men’s basketball national championships, the big man is one of the most intriguing prospects in this class. He is likely one of the first players who will hear his name called in Brooklyn at Barclays Center next month.
He measured just short of 7-foot-2 in socks with a wingspan nearly 7-foot-7 at the 2024 NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. Both ranked as the top among all participants except for just Purdue’s Zach Edey, who Clingan defeated in the NCAA title game.
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Although he is potentially a candidate at No. 1 overall to the Hawks, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the big man ranked at No. 5 overall in our first consensus mock draft after the lottery.
While that is fairly high for Clingan, he could go even higher. FOX’s John Fanta project the big man at No. 3 overall to the Rockets in his latest mock draft.
This would project Clingan as the big man of the future, alongside forward Alperen Sengun, for Houston. He would provide a solid young option for the Rockets, who recently acquired veteran Steven Adams.
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Our latest mock here at For The Win has Clingan potentially falling a bit and landing with the Grizzlies, though there are a wide range of outcomes for the UConn star on draft night.
Either way, though, Clingan is a promising big man with major upside on the defensive end of the floor.
