Spurs covet national champion to form newest twin tower pairing next to Victor Wembanyama: Report
Heading into the 2024 NBA draft, the San Antonio Spurs find themselves with the fourth overall selection. According to ESPN, the Spurs could go after the top center prospect to pair alongside Victor Wembanyama.
In the latest mock draft for ESPN, Jonathan Givony dropped an interesting piece of intel on what San Antonio could do at No. 4. He reported that their interest in UConn big man Donovan Clingan has grown, and they've brought him in for an interview.
Clingan spent the past two seasons at UConn, where he won two national championships. During his sophomore season, he averaged 13.0 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.5 blocks.
If the Spurs were to draft Clingan, they'd be creating a new duo of versatile big men. The last time they did this was back in 1997, when they selected Tim Duncan to pair him with David Robinson.
Would Donovan Clingan make sense for the San Antonio Spurs at No. 4?
Drafting Donovan Clingan at No. 4 would be an interesting move for the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA draft. While it would give them an impressive frontcourt pairing to build around moving forward, they might be better off going in a different direction.
At the start of last season, San Antonio deployed a traditional center next to Victor Wembanyama. However, the French prospect really didn't hit his stride until the team decided to play him at center. Seeing how much better he performed at that position, drafting another big could hinder his impact at times.
The Spurs could be considering Clingan after seeing the success of another Western Conference team last season. Two years ago, the Minnesota Timberwolves took a big swing and traded for Rudy Gobert. After a shaky start, the team managed to have great success, with him and Karl-Anthony Towns playing alongside each other.
Since Wembanayma can take his game to the perimeter, he and Clingan could play together in theory. It's also worth mentioning that the UConn big man is trying to adapt to the modern game. During the pre-draft process, he has showcased an improving outside shot.
This pairing certainly has the potential to be one of the top defensive duos in the league. That said, San Antonio should strongly consider a guard or wing prospect to pair with Wemby at No. 4.