The Chicago Bulls hold the No. 11 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, but there has been some buzz about the team potentially trying to trade up into the top 10 to get UConn big man Donovan Clingan, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times.
“The only way the Bulls enter the Clingan sweepstakes is if they move up, which has been discussed at the Advocate Center, according to a source,” Cowley wrote. “The problem is what do they really have to give to make that jump? What Clingan would give them, though, is an elite rim-protecting big that embraces physicality and doing the dirty work in the paint. Even if his offensive game comes along slowly, he is an instant presence on the defensive side of the floor.”
Donovan Clingan was a dominant force over his two years with the UConn basketball program and played a huge part in winning back-to-back national championships. As Cowley wrote, Clingan can run the floor especially well for a player his size, and that size is an advantage in the paint defensively. He shut down the inside defensively in college, and while the NBA is a different level, that is something teams would love to have. He will likely have to work on his offensive game early in his NBA career, but the potential is very high for Clingan.
With where the Bulls are, they are incentivized to just take the best player, and maybe trading up for Clingan is worth it. It would make for an interesting reunion with another UConn big.
Bulls could reunite Donovan Clingan with Adama Sanogo
As dominant as Clingan was, he was not a starter in his freshman year, and that was due to the presence of Adama Sanogo, who is currently on a two-way contract with the Bulls. Adama Sanogo was not as highly-touted of a prospect in comparison with Clingan, but the two formed one of the most dominant center duos in recent memory on UConn's 2022-2023 championship team.
Sanogo was the starter and was the most outstanding player in the Final Four. He was known for running the floor well and having a great arsenal of post-up moves. Unfortunately, his skills are not as valued in the NBA today. Clingan is likely to go in the top 10. It would be a fun full-circle story for Clingan and Sanogo to reunite and potentially form another great center rotation, only this time with Clingan as the starter.
There are a lot of reasons for UConn's dominance over the past two years, but the incredible center play has been arguably the biggest. The Bulls have an opportunity to have the two centers who are most responsible for that being a strength. It will be interesting to see if they can pull of a trade to land Clingan.
