Blast from the Past: 4 realistic Lakers moves to reunite them with ex-players

3) Jordan Clarkson

Utah Jazz sixth man, Jordan Clarkson, initially got his start with the Lakers, spending three seasons there after being undrafted. He has gone on to carve out a strong career and is a valuable offensive player who can get hot quickly. Over his last five seasons, all with the Jazz, Clarkson has started just 84 out of 305 of his games but has put up impressive numbers off the bench, averaging 17.7 points and 3.2 assists in 28.4 minutes.

He won Sixth Man of the Year in 2020–21 and while he is valuable to the Jazz, he could be even more valuable to a team such as the Lakers, who struggled at times on offense. They ranked 15th in the NBA in offensive rating and 28th in 3-point attempts per game.

Clarkson is known as a gunner, getting up more than seven threes a game despite playing fewer than 30 minutes per game. As far as potential trades go, the Lakers could offer Gabe Vincent, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and a protected first-round pick.

Clarkson probably wouldn't be enough to get the Lakers back into contention but they'd still have Russell and Hachimura's contracts to make another trade, with Clarkson possibly being the first domino.