The Portland Trail Blazers moved on from their starting center this past summer, reaching a buyout agreement with Deandre Ayton. This turned out to be an addition-by-subtraction move, paving the way for Donovan Clingan's second-year breakout. Portland's former No. 7 overall selection already showed enough in his All-Rookie campaign to earn the starting role. But that decision looks better than ever, as Clingan is playing the best basketball of his promising young career.
In 15 games post-All-Star break, the Blazers' big man is averaging 15.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 2.1 blocks per game. Did we mention he's shooting 39.