NBA Trade Grades: Utah Jazz pick up Jordan Clarkson
By Phil Watson
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz are still well under the luxury tax apron after acquiring Jordan Clarkson from the Cleveland Cavaliers. While the Jazz are $10.84 million over the salary cap, they still have $13.38 million left before getting to the apron, according to Jeff Siegel of Early Bird Rights.
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Clarkson comes with the remainder of his $13.44 million this season due, the last year of the four-year, $50 million deal he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in July 2016, with Clarkson set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Clarkson immediately becomes the top scoring threat off Utah’s bench with his average of 14.6 points per game. He is also averaging 2.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 23.0 minutes per game while shooting 44.2 percent overall and 37.1 percent on 5.5 3-point attempts per game.
He is a career 14.7 points per game scorer, playing part of four seasons with the Lakers before going to Cleveland along with Larry Nance Jr. in exchange for Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye and the 2018 first-round pick used to select Moritz Wagner.
Clarkson was a first-team All-Rookie selection in 2014-15 after being taken 46th overall by the Washington Wizards out of the University of Missouri and being traded to the Lakers for cash considerations the day after the 2014 NBA Draft.
Clarkson goes to the Jazz off his best game of the season on Friday night, when he scored a season-high 33 points with six rebounds on 12-of-17 shooting (6-of-8 from deep) in a win at home over the Memphis Grizzlies.
He does provide the Jazz with more scoring off the bench, with veteran journeyman Jeff Green currently the top point producer off the Utah bench at 7.9 points per game.
The Jazz were attempting to convert Joe Ingles to a reserve role this season, but he has been dismal in 20 relief appearances, averaging 7.6 points in 27.5 minutes per game and shooting 36.2 percent overall and 31.2 percent on 4.7 3-point attempts per game.
Clarkson is 27 years old, three years older than the player he was acquired for, Dante Exum, despite them coming out of the same draft class in 2014. Exum had run his course in Utah and should benefit from a fresh start. He missed the first 11 games of the season recovering from knee surgery and had taken five straight DNP-Coach’s Decisions in a row prior to the trade.
Exum also had another year to go on his contract, with the Jazz now picking up an expiring deal in Clarkson. However, according to TradeNBA, this deal only adds one projected victory to Utah’s total. The Jazz were 18-11 and sixth in the Western Conference entering Monday’s game at Miami.