NBA Rumors: 'Some Chatter' Hawks Like Donovan Clingan as Possible No. 1 Draft Pick

One way to elevate your profile for the NBA draft is to play on a team that wins back-to-back national titles in college.

Per ESPN's Jonathan Givony, there is "some chatter" that Connecticut star Donovan Clingan has "fans" among people in the Atlanta Hawks organization as they evaluate players to take with the No. 1 overall pick.

Of all the players in the 2024 class, Clingan seems to be the one who is seeing his stock rise rapidly.

B/R's Jonathan Wasserman had Clingan ranked as the No. 11 prospect on his most recent big board but called him "one of the draft's easiest bets to be a positive NBA contributor and valued starter" because of his ability as a defender.

In his most recent mock, Wasserman projected Clingan to go third to the Houston Rockets. The projection jumped him up four spots from the previous mock on May 12.

"The buzz and excitement around Donovan Clingan seems to be growing, even after he anchored Connecticut's national title run," Wasserman wrote. "Scouts and executives were impressed with the easy ball he shot during workouts at the combine, considering Clingan attempted just eight threes all season."

If the Hawks are enthralled by Clingan, it could signal an even busier offseason for the franchise than anticipated. It's already expected they will shop at least one of Trae Young or Dejounte Murray.

Atlanta already has a solid starting center in Clint Capela, but he could have good value in a trade with a $22.3 million expiring salary next season.

The Hawks are in a tricky spot, even with the No. 1 pick, because they still owe two unprotected first-round picks in 2025 and 2027 to the San Antonio Spurs as part of the Murray trade. The Spurs also own a pick swap in 2026.

Trading either Young or Murray and Capela would allow the Hawks to bring back future draft capital, but it would presumably make them worse in the short term when they need to be particularly mindful of that pick swap with the Spurs in two years.

Clingan's readiness for the NBA is another point in his favor as the top pick. The Hawks need to take bold steps this summer because they have been stuck in purgatory over the past three seasons after trying to capitalize on their run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021.