Over the last few months, it has been publicly determined by fans, pundits, and, most recently, the Memphis Grizzlies front office that the rotational area in most need of bolstering this summer is down at center.
With the 2024 NBA Draft officially here, many believe the opportunity for the franchise to strike on a new primary pivot is now, and Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report is proposing that Zach Kleiman and company should look to trade up in the festivities for one of the more coveted prospects in this year's class, Donovan Clingan.
Last-minute trade idea has Grizzlies land No. 5 pick in 2024 NBA Draft
For quite some time now, the Grizzlies have been linked to the UConn standout as a plausible next-level destination for his services, and, considering his build (7-foot-2, 280 pounds), rim-protecting, and board-gobbling expertise, it makes sense why the ball club would be a viable landing spot.
Of course, Memphis is far from the only team that has Clingan high on their radar, as the Rockets (No. 3), Trail Blazers (No. 7), and even the Hawks (No. 1) have all been rumored to be open to snatching up his services should he still be on the board when their number is called.
Because of this, there have been rumblings that the Grizzlies are intrigued by the idea of moving up in the draft to better their odds of attaining the touted 20-year-old, and Hughes believes to have constructed a self-declared sensical deal for them to do just that.
Though there's a chance Clingan could fall to Memphis should they stand pat at the ninth overall selection on the night, Hughes is urging them to be tactical in their approach to land the "paint-protecting, board-hoarding" big.
In turn, he is proposing a deal with the Pistons where they shimmy on up to the fifth pick on the night to give themselves increased chances of his arrival in Grind City.
DONOVAN CLINGAN IS BALLING 😳#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/Ffj9fV2ElI
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 7, 2024
To this point, Clingan's fit on this Grizzlies team has been spoken about ad nauseam, so, just to give some cliff notes, he is coming off a 2023-24 campaign with the Huskies where he posted impressive averages of 13.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks a night all while leading the team to their second-straight NCAA Championship.
For the rebuilding Pistons, they slide just a few slots back on the board where they could still pursue arguably the top prospect in this year's class, Ron Holland, at nine.
On top of this, they also add on a future second-rounder as well as the services of the "once-promising forward Ziaire Williams," who, at just 22 years old and attached to a rookie-scale deal, still holds value and upside as an overall prospect.
Especially assuming the Grizzlies land the likes of Clingan, this proposed transaction has the makings of being a true win-win scenario for all parties involved.