Lakers could reunite with Kobe Bryant-era player?
Jun 6, 2022; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka speaks before introducing head coach Darvin Ham at UCLA Health Training Center Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
The Los Angeles Lakers could still have a key underneath the doormat for a player from several years ago.
Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports is reporting this week that the Lakers have some interest in a few of the Utah Jazz’s new veteran trade candidates now that Donovan Mitchell is no longer on the team. Among those names is former Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson.
The 30-year-old Clarkson played the first four seasons of his NBA career from 2014 to 2018 with the Lakers. The first two of those seasons saw Clarkson become a regular starter on the wing alongside the late Kobe Bryant (before Bryant retired in 2016).
Clarkson was traded by the Lakers in 2018, going on to make the NBA Finals with the Cleveland Cavaliers and winning Sixth Man of the Year on the Jazz. He scores in caboodles (17.1 points per game in the last two seasons) and is owed a moderate $13.3 million next year with a player option for 2023-24. That sounds like the type of player whom the Lakers could use at this stage (provided Clarkson can focus better than he did during his first run in L.A.).
