Team Needs: Shooting, Wing depth, Roster clarity, Health, Talent Upgrades
The Portland Trail Blazers began their rebuild in earnest last year after trading away Damian Lillard, and as expected it was a tough season for the young Blazers. They were plagued by injury issues, with Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe, Deandre Ayton, Robert Williams III, Malcolm Brogdon, and Jerami Grant all missing extended time. Scoot Henderson (who missed 20 games himself, which was the fewest of that entire group) took his lumps as a young guard learning to play the NBA game, and certainly wasn’t helped by the inconsistency with who was in the lineups around him.
That makes this offseason a bit tricky for the Blazers to figure out exactly how to proceed. They can’t feel extremely confident about who is definitively part of their foundation for the future after an incomplete year for so many key players. Still, there are clear needs for this team, most notably adding shooters, as they were last in the NBA in three-point percentage a year ago. They started their effort to bolster their roster early on Draft night, trading the 14th pick and some 2029 selections for Deni Avdija from the Wizards, and then arrived at the No. 7 pick with Donovan Clingan still available and scooped him up.
Donovan Clingan (No. 7 Overall), A: For me, Clingan has the highest floor in this class, and his rim protection is the best single trait in the class. That is a strong foundation, especially with Portland able to stay put at No. 7 and take him without any additional investment. It does create a bit of a challenge with Deandre Ayton but, from a draft perspective, Clingan was my highest-rated player available and he can help to transform Portland’s defense.