Trade idea gives Grizzlies golden opportunity to land Donovan Clingan in NBA Draft

Heading into this year's NBA Draft, one of the most buzzed-about targets for this Memphis Grizzlies team has been UConn stud, Donovan Clingan.

Considering their desperate need for a new franchise center following the mid-season departures of both Steven Adams and Xavier Tillman, Grind City is oft described as being one of the best fits for the 7-foot-2 prospect due to his size, strength, and rim-protecting and board-gobbling expertise.

Of course, considering his strong sophomore campaign at the collegiate level that wrapped up with a second-straight NCAA Championship for the Huskies, coupled with his strong individual pre-draft workouts, the belief approaching the June 26's festivities is that Clingan may be a highly-coveted prospect by teams in possession of higher-end lottery picks, which, in turn, could leave the ninth-slotted Grizzlies on the outside looking in on realistically nabbing him.

Because of this, reports of late have been that Zach Kleiman and company are interested in the idea of trading up to better their odds of attaining his services and, in a recent proposal by Piston Powerd's Tyler Dutton, they are seen doing exactly that in a move with Detroit.

Trade proposal has Grizzlies trading for Pistons' No. 5 pick in NBA Draft

This proposal by Dutton could prove to be of great value for the Grizzlies if actually executed.

Obviously, the goal for the ball club would be to move up to a higher-end slot to try and land the coveted Clingan.

Being the top-two picks in the Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards are hotly rumored to be interested in the likes of Alex Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher, while the third and fourth selection holders in Houston and San Antonio already roster franchise pivots (Alpern Sengun and Victor Wembanyama, respectively), it may be safe to assume Memphis would have a great shot at landing their guy if they were to move up to the fifth spot on the board.

On top of this, this trade scenario would also see the team duck out from surpassing both the luxury tax and first-apron with the departure of Luke Kennard, who holds a $14.7 million team option for the 2024-25 campaign.

While his long-range shooting would come in handy for next year, especially considering they'll once again be looking to contend with a healthy roster and that they're coming off a season where they ranked second-worst in three-point percentage (34.6), avoiding fiscal penalties for the league's eighth-highest pay roll may be more appropriate of a desire at this point in time.

In the aftermath of such an exchange, they could then look to add on cheaper floor spacers with the MLE and veteran minimum in free agency or even scoop one up during the second round of the draft.

With just under two weeks separating now and the 2024 NBA Draft, it could be of great interest for the Memphis Grizzlies to look into partaking in this exchange, or something of this ilk, especially if they feel Clingan is their center of the future.