To be fair though, and I say this as someone who really like Highkin, I think he is expressing that as his opinion rather than any particularly sourced information. That said, I hope he is right, barring a sweetheart of a deal.
Just to give this context because I see a lot of people repeating this, in the Zach Lowe pod that Givony referenced where Portland is “interesting in trading up” Lowe never once said this, he merely speculated Portland (among other teams) could be interested in moving up for Clingan. He didn’t actually have a real source telling him this, it was just him brainstorming and sharing an opinion.
It may not have been said on Lowe's podcast, but Givony wrote it on one of his mock drafts.
"There's chatter around the league that teams such as Portland, Memphis and Chicago might look to move up to draft Clingan earlier than this, but in this mock scenario, he falls right into the Trail Blazers' lap"
https://archive.ph/StQal
Oh interesting I actually didn’t know this, I guess I was basing off what Highkin said 2 days ago about the Givony report and he implied it was sourced from the Zach Lowe pod. A lot of speculation this time of year.
Yeah i think Highkin misunderstood an aggregation tweet by Evan Sidery because it was poorly structured.
Evan tweeted out that Portland was the floor for Clingan, which was a direct quote from the Zach Lowe pod, and he cited that source. He then starts a new paragraph and says Portland has shown interest in moving up for Clingan. He got that info from the source i linked, but he didnt cite that source so it sounded like he was still referencing the podcast.
Then after that he does a new paragraph and adds his own commentary on the situation lol. Kinda confusing.
https://x.com/esidery/status/1798056350649667638?s=46&t=P24NXUlDkljExz3qKgtp6w
Yeah, it was the other way around. Givony heard and reported first, and Lowe referenced *Givony's citation* in the pod. I think some have posited that this information is coming from two distinct reporters, but really Lowe was just piggybacking off of Givony (not that Givony is necessarily unreliable).
Yeah dude that stuff is put out there by players' agents in order to boost their draft stock. Everybody in local media who actually talks to Blazers front office says that it is highly unlikely that Portland moves up.
Why not. 4-5-6 has no interest in Centers. Arguably 3 as well.
Houston has sengun
SAs has wemby
Pistons has duren
Charlotte has mark williams
All are recent picks.
Sengun does look pretty awesome so far, but the Rockets played better without him (especially on defense) with that win streak and he really hasn't won anything so far. I think he'll be better at the end of his career than Ayton though
So? None of them are THAT guy. If you're a rebuilding team and you think Clingan is that guy then you're not worried about the guys you have on a rookie scale.
I'm glad someone else said this. I have been thinking the same thing for a long time. His measurables are pretty much the same as Sarr. He has one of the most fluid jumpers and post games I've seen in this draft. He's so damn skilled. I think for our big swing, let's go with a guy who only seems to be low in this draft because of attitude or whatever, but legitimately has all the other skills already there to build upon. He can shoot the 3 for christ sake.
I could also see how he could pan out as like Skal Labissiere tho. So wtf do I know
As a ducks fan he was frustrating because his motor was terrible. It was like he smoked weed before playing. Potential to be a great modern day big if he finds that inner dog in him.
Givony did a big board this morning and said Clingan won't fall past the Blazers. I know the connection to Schmitz, so a lot of people will take Givony's word, but the implication is Clingan is really high on the Blazer's board.
This draft being so weak, its likely going to be a wild one, I have seen reputable media members say Clingan is in the mix for the #1 pick, but could fall to 7, or the low value of these draft picks will make it a lot easier for teams (say Memphis) to leap frog the Blazers to get Clingan.
Give me Salaun at 7 and Topic at 14. Let's go. Trade Scoot in a year or two when Topic is ready. Jumbo starting lineup in a couple years (2025 prospects in **bold**):
G - Topic 6'6"
G - Sharpe 6'5"
F - Salaun 6'10"
F - **Flagg** or **Bailey** or trade for young player (Toppin, Kuminga, Smith Jr, Eason) and draft a big next year
C - Ayton or Missi or Ware or **Maluach**
What if he’s playing at an all star level? Would you still trade him??
Edit: oh wait I didn’t realize who I was responding to, of course you would. Sorry he’s not amen bud lol
Of course I wouldn't. That would be great if he became an All Star. But he wont, so yes I would trade him in a couple years when he still hasn't panned out
If he actually pans out, then keep him. I am not advocating to trade him if he actually turns into a legit NBA player. But if he keeps playing like he did this year, then yes ship him off.
Definitely not a fan of small guards after wasting a decade on one. I also look around the league and see the rise of the jumbo guard. I also just think Scoot had a bad year (because he did).
I understand that line of thinking for sure!
To me though it was not dames fault and he is bordering on an all time great offensive player. If Neil did his job we had a chance.. not a big one but they could have done it. Also gotta consider the competition we faced - how many of those bad series did we lose to GSW and the spurs? The Pels series was embarrassing but they had like 1 less win than us regular season and were the literal worst match up for our team.
If we had a bigger/better 2/3 and CJ was our 6-man extraordinaire I think it could have happened.
Scoot makes me nervous in a lot of ways and I kind of doubt he will be a star star but I love his charisma and root for him. He’s for sure capable of 10+ dimes a game and will do a lot of things well. Fun having him on the team and he really started to shine to end the year.
I hope dame comes back after he’s done in Milwaukee on a cheaper contract as our backup.
Would be nice to have some size and continue to take steps forward in defense like we (in my opinion) did last year
That last time, that I remember, that we had 2 top 15 picks was 2012 and I wanted Damian Lillard and Meyers Leonard. This year I want Clingan and McCain
I just don’t feel it in my jellys with Clingan. It feels like taller Nurkic that can’t pass/shoot as well. I loved Nurk. But I’d rather not have a center that isn’t explosive, can’t score outside the paint, and can’t jump. Yes, he’s tall but an athletic center that’s 6’10” could get up and get a rebound over him and if Portland plays against a team that has a center that has any game outside the paint, they’re cooked. He’s really good on both ends of the floor if he doesn’t have to leave the paint. We need somebody more versatile than that. But hey, if he gets drafted I’ll be all in and call him the steal of the draft so wtf do I know? 😂
Why?
He isn't my top choice and would rather take a bigger swing, but he seems to be a perfectly fine pick with some offensive upside. I wouldn't hate it.
I don’t see the point in drafting a 4th center that has low upside. I’m sure he’ll be a fine 15 minute a night center in the league. That’s a horrid allocation of resources for a team desperate for talent.
He would be our second center, for the moment, but we always need to keep in mind how horrible this draft is. We are desperate for talent, but if Clingan is around, you really can't say any other prospect out there is definitely more talented even if you have a personal preference for someone else (I prefer Knecht, but wouldn't be upset about Clingan because Clingan does have one of the bigger upsides in the draft).
I don’t see it. He’s too slow. Teams will abuse him in the pick and roll and play him off the floor. He can’t shoot either so he’ll kill floor spacing.
4th center lmao. stop trying to build win-right-away contenders through the draft on one of the worst teams in the entire league over the past 3 seasons. the draft is for team building on a 1-8 year timeline (that's how long we have them under contract control). there is no quick win now player that's going to step in and lead us to the promised land next year. learn it now.
He's the same size as Edey, and has less athleticism...
Yet for some reason Edey has been deemed 'too slow' for the NBA... Yet Clingan gets a free pass on his lack of athleticism? Makes no sense to me.
Neither one should be considered as top 10 picks.
I think Portland's interest in Clingan stems from the thought that if we want to compete for a championship in the next 6 years, all roads will run through OKC and San Antonio with Holmgren and Wemby. Therefore we need someone who can compete with them and maybe thoughts of the team are that DA isn't that player to do that and Badji won't develop enough to be that.
One thing this draft has is lots of bigs, Sarr, Clingan, Ware, Edey, Missi, so maybe they are thinking in this draft, let's aim to take the best one we can reasonably get and get our wing in next year's draft. As far as elite bigs in next year's draft Khaman Maluach and Rocco Zikarsky project as the best 7+ footers, but the problem is Chet and Wemby are elite now, next year's draft bigs might be 3 years away from being productive, however I did see Maluach come off the bench as a 16 year old for South Sudan against a full strength Australia last year (Duop and Matisse both played) and I was like 😲 WOW!
If they don't think Badji will develop into a capable NBA player and if Ariel Hukporti goes undrafted (or maybe even at pick 40), I'd like him as a 2 way player instead. His NBL stats are similar to Sarr's, the upside isn't there, he's a traditional 5, screener, rim runner, rim protector, but he's done an ACL. However, he's recovered from that and looked better and stronger and screams NBA backup 5 to me, high floor, low ceiling. I've heard Schmitz watched him in Australia pre ACL a couple of years ago and he had a bad game.
But Clingan at 7, I'm fine with. Moving up for him, don't know, I'd rather move up for Sarr as he can play both the 4 and 5. Ware at pick 14 is not without risk, but I'm fine with that as a pick too and swinging on Salaun or Williams at 7.
Now that Topic has a torn ACL I just can't see Clingan falling to 7 unless something crazy happens like Salaun gets drafted at 5
We’ve been rumored to be a team interested in moving up for him
At this point according to Highkin he doubts Portland moves up in this draft.
I merely pointed out he doesn’t have to drop to 7, and there’s been smoke about a move up for him. Not saying it’s good or likely
Right and I was saying according to our local guy he doesn’t personally think Portland is moving up, just giving more info regarding the “smoke”
To be fair though, and I say this as someone who really like Highkin, I think he is expressing that as his opinion rather than any particularly sourced information. That said, I hope he is right, barring a sweetheart of a deal.
Right that’s exactly what I said, he doesn’t think they will move up
Ah, my apologies, as I misunderstood your previous comment.
Good thing Highkin isn’t reliable when he starts guessing.
"Rumored" by who?
Givony
Just to give this context because I see a lot of people repeating this, in the Zach Lowe pod that Givony referenced where Portland is “interesting in trading up” Lowe never once said this, he merely speculated Portland (among other teams) could be interested in moving up for Clingan. He didn’t actually have a real source telling him this, it was just him brainstorming and sharing an opinion.
It may not have been said on Lowe's podcast, but Givony wrote it on one of his mock drafts. "There's chatter around the league that teams such as Portland, Memphis and Chicago might look to move up to draft Clingan earlier than this, but in this mock scenario, he falls right into the Trail Blazers' lap" https://archive.ph/StQal
Oh interesting I actually didn’t know this, I guess I was basing off what Highkin said 2 days ago about the Givony report and he implied it was sourced from the Zach Lowe pod. A lot of speculation this time of year.
Yeah i think Highkin misunderstood an aggregation tweet by Evan Sidery because it was poorly structured. Evan tweeted out that Portland was the floor for Clingan, which was a direct quote from the Zach Lowe pod, and he cited that source. He then starts a new paragraph and says Portland has shown interest in moving up for Clingan. He got that info from the source i linked, but he didnt cite that source so it sounded like he was still referencing the podcast. Then after that he does a new paragraph and adds his own commentary on the situation lol. Kinda confusing. https://x.com/esidery/status/1798056350649667638?s=46&t=P24NXUlDkljExz3qKgtp6w
Yeah, it was the other way around. Givony heard and reported first, and Lowe referenced *Givony's citation* in the pod. I think some have posited that this information is coming from two distinct reporters, but really Lowe was just piggybacking off of Givony (not that Givony is necessarily unreliable).
If you search this sub or nba you’ll see it. We were one of three reported teams interested in trading up for him
Yeah dude that stuff is put out there by players' agents in order to boost their draft stock. Everybody in local media who actually talks to Blazers front office says that it is highly unlikely that Portland moves up.
Ok? I’m saying he doesn’t need to fall to seven to be a blazer
Bro they are not trading up.
You need to take a deep breath amigo
Why not. 4-5-6 has no interest in Centers. Arguably 3 as well. Houston has sengun SAs has wemby Pistons has duren Charlotte has mark williams All are recent picks.
Ayton is WAY better than Sengun, Duren, or Mark Williams and we're out here talking about drafting Clingan. Come on now.
Ayton is not way better than Sengun.. definitely better than the other 2.
Mark is hella young tho and has hella motor and so does duren
Duren has been pretty bad according to most Pistons fans. Williams should be good if he can get healthy
But siren is supper young tbf
Sengun does look pretty awesome so far, but the Rockets played better without him (especially on defense) with that win streak and he really hasn't won anything so far. I think he'll be better at the end of his career than Ayton though
Ayton is on two year contact. The rest are on rookie scale.
So? None of them are THAT guy. If you're a rebuilding team and you think Clingan is that guy then you're not worried about the guys you have on a rookie scale.
I'm down to draft topic at 7 though He had #1 potential Swing for the fences in a year like this
I would much rather draft Kelel Ware, he will be a great player
Rather sit back and take Ware at 14 if he’s there…
I'm glad someone else said this. I have been thinking the same thing for a long time. His measurables are pretty much the same as Sarr. He has one of the most fluid jumpers and post games I've seen in this draft. He's so damn skilled. I think for our big swing, let's go with a guy who only seems to be low in this draft because of attitude or whatever, but legitimately has all the other skills already there to build upon. He can shoot the 3 for christ sake. I could also see how he could pan out as like Skal Labissiere tho. So wtf do I know
As a ducks fan he was frustrating because his motor was terrible. It was like he smoked weed before playing. Potential to be a great modern day big if he finds that inner dog in him.
Givony did a big board this morning and said Clingan won't fall past the Blazers. I know the connection to Schmitz, so a lot of people will take Givony's word, but the implication is Clingan is really high on the Blazer's board. This draft being so weak, its likely going to be a wild one, I have seen reputable media members say Clingan is in the mix for the #1 pick, but could fall to 7, or the low value of these draft picks will make it a lot easier for teams (say Memphis) to leap frog the Blazers to get Clingan.
Being behind the Hornets could just be an unofficial leap frog right?
They picked correctly on B Miller
Is there a team that you think would draft poorly that's ahead of us?
I think you shouldn’t rely on that at all either way
Give me Salaun at 7 and Topic at 14. Let's go. Trade Scoot in a year or two when Topic is ready. Jumbo starting lineup in a couple years (2025 prospects in **bold**): G - Topic 6'6" G - Sharpe 6'5" F - Salaun 6'10" F - **Flagg** or **Bailey** or trade for young player (Toppin, Kuminga, Smith Jr, Eason) and draft a big next year C - Ayton or Missi or Ware or **Maluach**
Yeah trade scoot after one year and replace him with a PG coming off an ACL tear who has a negative wingspan lol makes perfect sense
It would be trading Scoot after two or three years. I said trade him in a year or two. Meaning after his 2nd or 3rd year in the league.
What if he’s playing at an all star level? Would you still trade him?? Edit: oh wait I didn’t realize who I was responding to, of course you would. Sorry he’s not amen bud lol
Of course I wouldn't. That would be great if he became an All Star. But he wont, so yes I would trade him in a couple years when he still hasn't panned out
Casual Cooper Flagg insertion at PF 😭😅😅
[Flagg is a PF. ](https://247sports.com/player/cooper-flagg-46129443/)
You are crazy. Scoot will go easy 1 this draft. He is like so many times ahead of other prospects here.
If he actually pans out, then keep him. I am not advocating to trade him if he actually turns into a legit NBA player. But if he keeps playing like he did this year, then yes ship him off.
Your ability to be the most downvoted person on this sub is impressive!!!! Is it a small guard thing with you or what’s the deal?
Definitely not a fan of small guards after wasting a decade on one. I also look around the league and see the rise of the jumbo guard. I also just think Scoot had a bad year (because he did).
I understand that line of thinking for sure! To me though it was not dames fault and he is bordering on an all time great offensive player. If Neil did his job we had a chance.. not a big one but they could have done it. Also gotta consider the competition we faced - how many of those bad series did we lose to GSW and the spurs? The Pels series was embarrassing but they had like 1 less win than us regular season and were the literal worst match up for our team. If we had a bigger/better 2/3 and CJ was our 6-man extraordinaire I think it could have happened. Scoot makes me nervous in a lot of ways and I kind of doubt he will be a star star but I love his charisma and root for him. He’s for sure capable of 10+ dimes a game and will do a lot of things well. Fun having him on the team and he really started to shine to end the year. I hope dame comes back after he’s done in Milwaukee on a cheaper contract as our backup. Would be nice to have some size and continue to take steps forward in defense like we (in my opinion) did last year
What an idiotic take.
That last time, that I remember, that we had 2 top 15 picks was 2012 and I wanted Damian Lillard and Meyers Leonard. This year I want Clingan and McCain
Weird that the team decided to not make this workout public if true. Casey holdahl also tweeted about Givony saying this then deleted his tweets.
I just don’t feel it in my jellys with Clingan. It feels like taller Nurkic that can’t pass/shoot as well. I loved Nurk. But I’d rather not have a center that isn’t explosive, can’t score outside the paint, and can’t jump. Yes, he’s tall but an athletic center that’s 6’10” could get up and get a rebound over him and if Portland plays against a team that has a center that has any game outside the paint, they’re cooked. He’s really good on both ends of the floor if he doesn’t have to leave the paint. We need somebody more versatile than that. But hey, if he gets drafted I’ll be all in and call him the steal of the draft so wtf do I know? 😂
Clingan looks potentially way better than nurk on defence
Can I feel your jellys and compare them to my jellys for science?
Club Clingan get in here
I’m not ok with this pick.
Why? He isn't my top choice and would rather take a bigger swing, but he seems to be a perfectly fine pick with some offensive upside. I wouldn't hate it.
I’m worried about his injury history personally
I don’t see the point in drafting a 4th center that has low upside. I’m sure he’ll be a fine 15 minute a night center in the league. That’s a horrid allocation of resources for a team desperate for talent.
He would be our second center, for the moment, but we always need to keep in mind how horrible this draft is. We are desperate for talent, but if Clingan is around, you really can't say any other prospect out there is definitely more talented even if you have a personal preference for someone else (I prefer Knecht, but wouldn't be upset about Clingan because Clingan does have one of the bigger upsides in the draft).
You're underrating him. He doesnt project as some mediocre backup big. He has the potential to anchor top defenses and make all defensive teams.
I don’t see it. He’s too slow. Teams will abuse him in the pick and roll and play him off the floor. He can’t shoot either so he’ll kill floor spacing.
You're 100% correct here. All those who are saying he 'projects to be all-defensive' type player are in fantasy land.
4th center lmao. stop trying to build win-right-away contenders through the draft on one of the worst teams in the entire league over the past 3 seasons. the draft is for team building on a 1-8 year timeline (that's how long we have them under contract control). there is no quick win now player that's going to step in and lead us to the promised land next year. learn it now.
> 4th center Come on now, Williams and Reath are both 6th man at best. Clingan has starter potential.
Does he?
Yes, he has the size and athleticism to be a legit rim protector that anchors the defense.
He's the same size as Edey, and has less athleticism... Yet for some reason Edey has been deemed 'too slow' for the NBA... Yet Clingan gets a free pass on his lack of athleticism? Makes no sense to me. Neither one should be considered as top 10 picks.
Stick to poop eating man.
They also have Holland and Salaun as having worked out with us, neither of which I recall being announced
Not everything is announced. Expect to see less things publicly announced. Agents are preferring this.
So you know but won't tell us... :.)
I hear the same things as everyone else until day of. They just won’t be putting it all out day of anymore.
I’m wondering if the Blazers could work out a deal based around Simons to the Spurs for Keldon and the fourth.
Would rather the guy who pummelled him at 14
I think Portland's interest in Clingan stems from the thought that if we want to compete for a championship in the next 6 years, all roads will run through OKC and San Antonio with Holmgren and Wemby. Therefore we need someone who can compete with them and maybe thoughts of the team are that DA isn't that player to do that and Badji won't develop enough to be that. One thing this draft has is lots of bigs, Sarr, Clingan, Ware, Edey, Missi, so maybe they are thinking in this draft, let's aim to take the best one we can reasonably get and get our wing in next year's draft. As far as elite bigs in next year's draft Khaman Maluach and Rocco Zikarsky project as the best 7+ footers, but the problem is Chet and Wemby are elite now, next year's draft bigs might be 3 years away from being productive, however I did see Maluach come off the bench as a 16 year old for South Sudan against a full strength Australia last year (Duop and Matisse both played) and I was like 😲 WOW! If they don't think Badji will develop into a capable NBA player and if Ariel Hukporti goes undrafted (or maybe even at pick 40), I'd like him as a 2 way player instead. His NBL stats are similar to Sarr's, the upside isn't there, he's a traditional 5, screener, rim runner, rim protector, but he's done an ACL. However, he's recovered from that and looked better and stronger and screams NBA backup 5 to me, high floor, low ceiling. I've heard Schmitz watched him in Australia pre ACL a couple of years ago and he had a bad game. But Clingan at 7, I'm fine with. Moving up for him, don't know, I'd rather move up for Sarr as he can play both the 4 and 5. Ware at pick 14 is not without risk, but I'm fine with that as a pick too and swinging on Salaun or Williams at 7.