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Clingan was selected by the Trail Blazers with the No. 7 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Many mock drafts had Clingan as a top-three pick, so Portland getting him at No. 7 represents a slide down the board. The UConn product, with his 7-foot-2 frame, is a traditional big. He blocks shots at an elite level, rebounds, and works in the paint on offense. How much he gets used in the post instead of simply as a pick-and-roll threat remains to be seen, but it will be an option for him. Clingan's experience with an excellent college program and his baseline of skill make him one of the more ready-made prospects in the draft. That said, he will have to compete with Deandre Ayton and Robert Williams for minutes as a rookie, which is a far from ideal situation since nobody in the trio can effectively play power forward.
