The NBA Draft Lottery took place Sunday afternoon in what may’ve been one of the most shocking lotteries ever. The Atlanta Hawks, the team with the fourth-lowest odds of landing the number one overall pick, went home striking 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.
Clingan to the Grizzlies is one of the best hypothetical fits in this year’s draft. Having traded away Steven Adams, Memphis is at a dire need for screening and rebounding at the center position. And outside of Zach Edey, no prospect provides a better combination of the two than Clingan. The importance of Adams’ screening for Ja Morant in particular should not be underemphasized — since his arrival for the 2021-22 season, Morant has averaged 31.1 points per 75 possessions on 57.
Clingan and Jackson Jr. compliment each other perfectly on defense too. Clingan’s class-best pick-and-roll defense, where his drop defense is all-worldly and he has the ability to stretch out and play at the level of the screener, would lessen Jackson Jr.’s work load defensively. In years past where his other big was Jonas Valanciunas or Adams, he would sometimes be overextended as they would allow one too many breakdowns.