In what constitutes massive progress over last season, the Lakers still have more games to play in mid-April. But at the same time, they may already be looking ahead to their plans for the offseason.
Speaking this week with Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveney, an unnamed Eastern Conference executive said that the Lakers could potentially make a run at former Sixth Man of the Year Jordan Clarkson in the summer. Clarkson, who will turn 31 in June, can decline his player option for next season (worth $14.3 million) and become an unrestricted free agent.
Originally a second-round draft pick by the Lakers in 2014, Clarkson spent the first four years of his career with them. He was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018 and has since developed into one of the NBA’s top second-unit flamethrowers. Clarkson averaged 18.4 points per game coming off the bench for the Utah Jazz in 2020-21 (his Sixth Man of the Year campaign) and bested that this season as a starter for Utah with 20.8 points a game.
While his defense has always been a bit lacking, Clarkson’s offensive bag can stack up with anyone’s.
JORDAN CLARKSON. 🔥
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) April 6, 2022
8-0 run by Jordan Clarkson 🔥 pic.twitter.com/NJJ5XflZf9
— NBA TV (@NBATV) November 20, 2022
Jordan Clarkson tonight:
38 PTS
9 REB
5 AST pic.twitter.com/957YSwYzHw— NBA (@NBA) January 15, 2023
The Lakers have some free agent business of their own to take care of this offseason. Several important backcourt pieces (including D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, and Dennis Schroder) are up for new contracts themselves. But the Lakers were already linked to Clarkson several months ago and may just be plotting another run at him, especially if one or more of their current guards leave in free agency.
