We are a quarter into the season, and as per usual, the trade eligibility of players who signed in the off-season has kicked in, which then means the probability of player movement just shot up.
The Utah Jazz appear to have raised a signal about engaging in such talks as news broke that they are all ears, and that primarily includes a potential deal for their scoring two-guard, Jordan Clarkson.
Here’s what Chris Haynes said on Bleacher Report:
“The Utah Jazz are gonna be open to all inquiries … Jordan Clarkson – that is the name that I’ve been told is available for the right package.”
This is somewhat of a surprise as the Jazz and Clarkson just agreed to a three-year extension worth $55 million last July. However, it does make sense for the two parties to move on as they may very well be thinking of different paths.
For the rebuilding Jazz, it’s all about the future: more draft picks and high-potential players, and less older players (unless they’re really, really good, of course). Clarkson, who’s pretty solid but isn’t exactly an All-Star and is now 31, falls on the latter. He’s at the back-half of his career, and is much fitting to be on a legit contender, and not a lottery-bound team like Utah, where his contributions can only be noticed so much because the team is taking one loss after another.
Besides, he has already done a lot for the Jazz. He’s now on his fifth season with the franchise and became a factor during their contending years in the Donovan Mitchell-Rudy Gobert era, so much so that he even won the 2020-21 NBA Sixth Man of the Year award.
Now, while Lauri Markkanen has surged into an All-Star caliber forward, and there’s an intriguing core, the group is still far-off. Clarkson can’t waste his last few good years on such situations, so you can’t expect much patience there.
In 19 games this season thus far, JC is averaging 16.6 points and 4.9 assists per game, which are decent. In fact, that’s currently his career-best in dimes. That said, though, his shooting has taken a hit. He’s only at 29.5% from beyond the arc, and 39.9% overall, both of which are the lowest of his nine-year career. It can be chalked to his injuries this season, but it might be due to him being understandably uninspired playing for a rebuilding squad.
What are the ideal destinations?
Since Clarkson is starter material and also play the “microwave guard” role well, there are plenty of ideal teams to name. The Indiana Pacers are one with all that offensive explosion – just imagine how well he can be plugged into such a fast-paced attack. Then, there’s others that are simply in need of an added scorer or guard, like the Golden State Warriors who are relying heavily on Stephen Curry this season, the Philadelphia 76ers who need a third man behind Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, or the upstart Orlando Magic, who has a three-player clog at the PG spot. That’s just some of the many.
This will be something to watch out for in the coming weeks. We should learn more as the season progresses. One thing’s for sure, though, the Jazz and Clarkson are ideally better off moving on from one another at this point.
