Donovan Clingan is already proving to be a starting-caliber center in his second season, largely thanks to his elite rim protection and high basketball IQ. But offensively, what is the pathway to becoming more impactful for the Portland Trail Blazers?

That pressing question will ultimately determine Clingan’s ceiling, and it’s one Sam Vecenie and Bryce Simon recently raised on the Game Theory Podcast.

Simon wonders what the vision is for Clingan offensively. Is he ever going to become a Brook Lopez who has been able to effectively space the floor later on in his career, or is he more like Rudy Gobert in terms of being overly reliant on teammates to set him up around the rim?

Blazers must reconsider Donovan Clingan’s offensive role

This season, Clingan is averaging 10.2 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.5 blocks in 25.4 minutes per game. While his numbers are up across the board, they could be even better if the Blazers used him differently and played to his strengths more.

“The scoring has gotten better this year, ” Vecenie said. “He’s gotten more effective than what he was a season ago. He’s shooting 68% at the rim in half-court settings this year, which is a good number. The problem is, he’s only getting there twice per game.”

Clingan is launching 2.9 threes per game, which is somewhat ridiculous considering he’s a 7-foot-2, 280-pound monster of a human being that connects on just 25.5% of those attempts. Vecenie wants Clingan to stop shooting as many threes because opposing teams don’t seem to care, and the form is problematic.

“You get him into even more creative offensive situations and have him initiate even more from the top with his passing and letting him make quick decisions,” Vecenie suggested. “I do think he’s a real passer. Maybe you have him initiate more from the high post and have him play as a dribble handoff reject guy, and he’s hitting cutters consistently as opposed to occasionally throughout the course of a game, and you make him more of a hub that way.”

Clingan’s most significant impact will always come as a defensive anchor. But there are traits defensively he can apply more towards an offensive role, such as his basketball IQ and ability to anticipate plays, which also make him an underrated passer. It’s up to Portland to put Clingan in ideal offensive situations to utilize this skill set, rather than simply having him unsuccessfully attempt to space the floor.

Perhaps Clingan’s career trajectory will become like Lopez ‘s, and he’ll eventually unlock that part of his offensive arsenal. But for now, it’s in both the Blazers’ and Clingan’s best interest to get him involved offensively in other creative ways.