The NBA has gone away from traditional big men like UConn’s Donovan Clingan and Purdue’s Zach Edey. Yet Clingan is expected to be a top-five pick and Edey could sneak into the lottery. They matched up in the national championship game and Purdue coach Matt Painter was impressed by Clingan’s ability as a help defender.
“The No. 1 thing for us wasn’t Clingan’s defense on Zach, it was Clingan’s defense in help,” Painter told ESPN’s Jeremy Woo. “We thought he was a really good post defender, but also thought Zach would have that advantage. I thought Zach had more success in that game, but where Clingan does his work and where he’s special is on the weak side coming over, helping out on drives, having that timing and the discipline to stay down. To be the second jumper, block or change shots.”
Painter believes Edey will silence the critics who don’t feel his game translates to the NBA level.
“A lot of people will say, professionally, no, you can’t do more than what you’ve done [in college]. I think that’s a fair statement most of the time,” Painter said. “But for Zach, he still was going into his sixth, seventh year of basketball … he did improve and make big strides into this last year, and he’s just going to keep doing that. I don’t think he’s going to stop. He’s kind of defied the odds already, and I think he’s going to keep defying the odds.”
Woo also spoke with UConn coach Dan Hurley to get his thoughts on what Clingan and Edey bring to the table.
We have more draft-related tidbits:
- Clingan, Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard, UConn swingman Stephon Castle and G League Ignite forward Ron Holland rank as tier-one prospects, otherwise labeled “best bets in a bad class,” according to The Athletic’s John Hollinger. Overall, Hollinger ranks 75 prospects via a 15-tier system, with the last tier being two-way contract candidates.
- ESPN’s Jonathan Givony offers up his top sleeper prospects at each position. Among that group are UCLA center Adem Bona and Arizona power forward Keshad Johnson.
- Another veteran NBA reporter, The Athletic’s David Aldridge, solicits opinions from coaches, executives and scouts to evaluate the guard, forward and big men prospects expected to come off the board.
- Australian forward Josh Bannan, who played three seasons at Montana before joining the Brisbane Bullets this past season, has worked out for approximately 10 NBA teams, ESPN’s Olgun Uluc tweets. The Suns, Magic, Lakers, Clippers and Warriors are among the teams who brought him in for a workout.
Edey & Clingan are both solid big man prospects. Both obv extremely huge guys. Edey gives strong Roy Hibbert vibes. Clingan gives Meyers Leonard/Brook Lopez. I would def rather have Ulrich Chomche or Hansen Yang if I’m going for a young big in this draft. Edey & Clingan have had way more visibility but Chomche/Yang are younger, more naturally skilled & have a higher ceiling.
Both Hansen Yang and Ulrich Chomche and are intriguing prospects. They very well could both be the best players in this year’s draft but their future is hard to gauge as like you said they haven’t had much exposure.
Utah or Toronto should consider Chomche with their late 1st round pick or early 2nd round picks. Take a shot at finding the next Giannis or Gobert but be fine with him being the next Joakim Noah.
I wouldn’t take Yang as high as I would Chomche, he’s more of mid to late 2nd rounder. If Miami’s thinking long term he makes sense at 43 and shouldn’t slip past the Warriors at 52 as a building block for the post Curry era. I see a lot of Domantas Sabonis in the limited film and highlight videos I’ve watched but like Chomche it’s going to take time and patience to get there.
I like the Chomche at 52. But, I’d send him to Europe for a few seasons. He just turned 18. He could use sometime developing. Jokic played pro hoops in Serbia two seasons before he was drafted. They kept him there for another season and it kinda worked out.
I think any of these teams would be ecstatic to get a Joakim level big in this draft, especially in the late 1st. I’d be surprised if Chomche lasted that long tbh to me he’s a perfect fit for a bunch of the teams drafting in the teens, starting with OKC. I agree Chomche is prob a yr or so away tho.
Yang on the other hand I think is ready to play in the league rn. It’s sorta crazy that there isn’t way more fuss about this guy. His footwork is incredible, he has good size/length, he has great defensive instincts, nice shooting touch, he’s a beast in the post, he’s an elite passer. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, he’s closer to Sarr than he is to the guys like Clingan/Edey as far as his potential. Anyone that likes Alpo Sengun will love Hansen
This draft class is so weak someone has to be drafted.
That’s the claim now. But, nobody knows how players will develop.
NCAA
Compare 1984 and 2024 draft
Olajuwan vs Clingan
Jordan vs Sheppard
Stockton vs Castle
Barkley vs Matas Buzelis
I have Matas Buzelis at 5th pick
Outside of the lottery, Edey would be a low risk pickup.
He can play spot minutes, plus contenders need size to at least bother the elite bigs.
Or you could just draft your own elite big in Hansen Yang
Explain to me, us. Why he has a future in NBA. Or you just like picking out names.
I tell you what. How about you check him out and tell me what you think about his game.
I’m not the one pushing him. When you push a player. You should be able to explain him. Imo he’s not ready for NBA. And timeline is always important in the draft. It’s why Risacher and Sarr are at top of draft. I like Yang size. Plays smart. But he hasn’t faced this kind of comp on a nightly basis. Sometimes it just kills their confidence. When you push them too soon. Wiseman is a great example of that.
Sankara you like to throw out names and leagues we don’t care about. Yet you can’t explain why you like a player who might go in 2nd rd. Haven’t watched him enough to really say. If he gets drafted. I’ll give you a scouting report.
Ehh, Yang’s not a guy you take early but I’d take a chance with a mid to late second round pick.
Why would you not take him early?
It’s true about Edey. He started playing late in life. I can see more improvement. Just not all teams will put in the work to help him. I think Thibs would be good for him. Wherever he goes. He needs PT, heavy. I’d put him in G-league for yr. He also should work out with HOF centers. I think he has a chance to be a starter one day. Just don’t rush it.
So what do Hawks do with pick ????
Hawk homer talks about everything but that. Why is Sarr so against Atlanta?????
I sure want to know why.
Imo you draft Sarr and trade Capela. You add more talent and get younger. Sarr has potential to be better than Capela. Can start right away. Unfortunately it seems Sarr does not like @Sankara. So it makes for interesting drama. I don’t take Risacher. But I do trade the pick. Trading down for Castle is not a bad idea. You can retool team now. You will get plenty for Murray. Just a thought. Only who would trade up with best offer.
Idk, but if I’m San Antonio, I don’t trade with Atlanta. Let ’em flounder. No reason to send those picks back, and next year’s draft is supposed to be better. Young and Murray will garner plenty of attention around the league. San Antonio can get their PG elsewhere and enjoy those picks.
Spurs can get another pg but they won’t find anyone as perfect for them as Trae Young. Not just now but probably for years to come
Sarr doesn’t want to come here bc we have Jalen Johnson & he wants to be a featured guy in the offense. DC can promise him a bigger role in the offense for the duration of his rookie contract & that’s obv very important to his career & future earnings. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kuz was headed out this summer & DC basically becomes Sarr’s team. Hawks wouldn’t be able to do that. We have a more veteran team. Sarr wouldn’t even start for us. The team that a guy gets drafted to goes a long way toward determining how much a guy gets on his next contract.
So that’s why Sarr doesn’t want to come here. He’s thinking long term & frankly he’s thinking smart. I would prob make the same decision tbh. If this was a situation like 2018 with Luka I’d say what I said then, just draft Luka whether he wants to be here or not, we got 4yrs to convince him. But Sarr isn’t as great as Luka & we don’t really have a need/spot for him anyway. I think we’d be much better off trading down. And I think that’s what they’re gonna do. I like Castle, he’s from somewhere around here & he’s a tough, athletic, versatile guard, which we could definitely use. But I like Isaiah Collier better. He’s a pure pg, he’s steady, he’s strong, he’s smart, he’s everything you want in a pg. I think he’s the best pg prospect we’ve had come in the league in a few yrs tbh.
As far as trading Clint lol I mean that’s crazy to me tbh. I feel like either people really don’t understand how good he is. Right now as we speak he’s 1 of the top5 rebounders in the league. This has been true ever since he got here. Rebounding remains extremely important. Why would we give that up. I like Sarr a lot. He’s not near the rebounder that Clint is. Maybe he will be one day but the Hawks are not at a point where we want to be going backwards. Plus you seem to forget that we already have an elite backup 5 in Onyeka Okongwu. We drafted him #6 just a few yrs ago & he’s been great. Why would we mess with a duo that is clearly a main strength of our team? We have plenty of other avenues to add talent to the roster. Trading Trae Young is a much bigger priority & would bring back more value in return. The draft is tmrw & we have the #1 pick. Those are way easier & more logical ways to add talent (as if a lack of talent was ever the problem in the 1st place)