The Los Angeles Lakers have agreed to re-sign restricted free agent guard Jordan Clarkson to a contract worth $50 million over four years. The contract cannot officially be signed until the end of the NBA’s moratorium period on July 7th.
Shams Charania of The Vertical broke the news early Friday morning:
Jordan Clarkson has reached agreement on a four-year, $50M deal to return to the Los Angeles Lakers, league sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2016
Report: Jordan Clarkson Agrees To Re-sign With Los Angeles Lakers
Clarkson’s contract will take him through the end of the 2019-20 season. Any player and team options in the deal are not known at this time.
Clarkson averaged 15.5 points, 4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game last season with the Los Angeles Lakers. Clarkson’s points and rebounds went up from his first year, but his assists numbers dropped by more than one per game. Clarkson struggled with injury in his rookie season, but showed his durability last year while starting 79 games for the Lakers. Clarkson has been a shining light during a bad spell in the last two years for the Lakers franchise. The Lakers have only won 38 games in two seasons, but Clarkson has proved that he can play in the league and has a very bright future.
Looking forward, Clarkson continues to provide the ability to play either the point guard or shooting guard position, and gives the Lakers energy at both ends of the court. Clarkson is developing well, both as a scorer and a defender. The Lakers need all the help they can get, and retaining a good young guard like Clarkson is key to the Lakers getting themselves back to winning ways and maybe even a playoff appearance in the 2016-17 season. Clarkson is slowly becoming a leader for this Lakers team, and will be a crucial player for new head coach Luke Walton.
Clarkson is heading into his third season in the NBA, and will be 24 years old when the season begins. Clarkson has played his entire career with the Lakers and was drafted 46th overall by Washington in 2014. He was then traded to the Lakers for cash considerations.
Check out the LWOS NBA Free Agency Tracker for all of your NBA free agency coverage, and be sure to follow @LastWordHoops on Twitter to stay up-to-date with the latest NBA news.
