In figuring out what to do with the Los Angeles Lakers, Jordan Clarkson stands out as a solid trade piece. Should he be moved or invested in?
With the NBA Playoffs in full swing, teams that missed the playoffs are reevaluating everything, from the front office to the coaching staff to the players on the roster. For the Los Angeles Lakers, the majority of that work comes with the roster.
Luke Walton just finished his first season as head coach, and the front office combination of Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka were hired mid-season.
When glancing at the roster, there are players who seem locked into next season’s plans. Some by status—recent lottery selections like Brandon Ingram, D’Angelo Russell, and Julius Randle—and some by their contract status—Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov.
The player that’s the most interesting is Jordan Clarkson, who teeters on the fence of being a keeper and a potential player to move.
Clarkson, acquired for cash in the 2014 NBA Draft from the Washington Wizards, had a good start to his career and turned his success into a nice second contract for a second-round pick. He averaged 11.9 points and 3.5 assists as a rookie and then jumped to 15.5 points per game as a sophomore.
This past season, Clarkson averaged 14.7 points in a career-low 19 starts.
The fit between Clarkson and Los Angeles is a weird one. Clarkson has three good attributes: size, shooting, and the ability to score at the rim. At 6’5″, Clarkson could play and body both guard positions.
Even after a down season behind the arc, Clarkson is a career 33.4 percent 3-point shooter with two solid seasons under his belt.
He’s also a good driver. Per NBA.com, Clarkson shot 51 percent on 6.4 drives per game in 2016-17. That’s good for 11th in the league amongst players who attempted as many or move drives, finishing with better efficiency than the likes of Kyrie Irving, Isaiah Thomas, and Damian Lillard.
His issues, however, make it tough for him to truly thrive and places him in that potential starter/reserve role. The primary issues can be found on the defensive end. Three full seasons into his NBA career, Clarkson is still a bad defender.
Los Angeles finished four points better with Clarkson off the floor and his struggles were only amplified when playing alongside poor defenders like Russell and Lou Williams in the backcourt.
The second is that Clarkson isn’t a true playmaker. He’s more of a secondary ball-handler who can also create. The arrival of Williams and Russell hampered his assists totals, failing to average 3.5 assists per 36 minutes the last two seasons.
Clarkson averaged 5.0 assists per 36 minutes as a rookie, but never flashed true point guard ability in his three seasons as a Laker.
For the Lakers, it’ll be interesting to see how they value Clarkson.
In Los Angeles, he profiles best as a top reserve. He can provide spacing and creation, but alongside Russell, he forms one of the worst defensive backcourts in the league. Last season, the combination of Russell and Clarkson finished with a defensive rating of 121.3 in 721 minutes, per NBA.com.
Not to mention, Russell seems like the point guard of the future for Los Angeles.
Los Angeles has to improve its defense and the Russell/Clarkson combination is one of the small steps towards doing so.
On the other hand, he makes for an interesting trade piece. In a league with so few wings, Clarkson’s ability to shuffle between both guard positions and space the floor would be valuable for several teams.
He signed a team-friendly deal—four-years, $50 million—last season, and with three years left on the books, he’ll have great value.
The ideal use of Clarkson in a trade is using him with the retained first-round draft pick, especially if they target Paul George. With one year left on his contract and a reported desire to play for the Lakers, it would tough for the Indiana Pacers to overlook a deal surrounding the second or third overall pick in the draft, Clarkson, and others for George.
With Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka entering their first seasons in the Lakers front office, the Lakers will have several decisions to make with their roster. Clarkson presents an interesting chess piece for them, as he fits right in the middle.
With a nice contract and a solid combination of skills, Clarkson could be a nice piece moving forward for the Los Angeles Lakers.
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Or, he can be an even better trade piece.