{"id":66982,"date":"2024-03-10T07:12:40","date_gmt":"2024-03-10T11:12:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=66982"},"modified":"2024-03-10T09:50:11","modified_gmt":"2024-03-10T13:50:11","slug":"jazz-very-likely-trade-scorer-jordan-clarkson-offseason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/03\/10\/jazz-very-likely-trade-scorer-jordan-clarkson-offseason\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Rumors: Jazz Scorer \u2018Very Likely\u2019 to Leave in Offseason Trade"},"content":{"rendered":"

After being shopped around the Feb. 8 trade deadline, Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson<\/a> is \u201cvery likely<\/a>\u201d to leave the team in the offseason, per Sarah Todd of Deseret News.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to beat around the bush here,\u201d Todd writes. \u201cIt is very likely that this is Clarkson\u2019s last season with the Jazz. With the direction the team is headed and the structure of Clarkson\u2019s contract, it seems inevitable that the Jazz will look to trade him in the offseason…\u201d<\/p>\n

Jordan Clarkson \u2018Very Likely\u2019 to Leave Jazz<\/h2>\n

Clarkson\u2019s time with Utah has been the best of his career.<\/p>\n

Named Sixth Man of the Year in 2021, his first full season with the Jazz, he quickly became a fan favorite. However, with Utah opting to trade Donovan Mitchell<\/a> after the season, the Jazz began their rebuild. With that, Clarkson\u2019s veteran status took on a different meaning.<\/p>\n

It was still a badge of honor. A signifier of his experience and longevity. However, Clarkson was approaching his 30s at a time when the Jazz\u2019s best player \u20142017\u2019s No. 7 pick, Lauri Markkanen<\/a> \u2014had just turned 25 years old. Even worse, at least for Clarkson, Markkanen was just coming into his own as a player.<\/p>\n

Lauri Markkanen Enters the Chat<\/h3>\n

Markkanen\u2019s reputation took a major hit during his time with the Chicago Bulls, the team that drafted him in 2017. Due to inefficient offense, inconsistent defense, and an inability to stay healthy, he was fighting the dreaded \u2018bust\u2019 label. Failing to agree on a contract extension with the Bulls, he agreed to a sign-and-trade<\/a> that sent him to the Cleveland Cavaliers.<\/p>\n

He only lasted one season with the Cavs. Playing primarily as a small forward for the first time in his career, Markkanen became a more reliable defender. He also showed off his scoring versatility, which seemed suited for his position change.<\/p>\n

However, he shot just 44.5 percent from the field and 35.8 percent from 3. Though the Cavs were fond of him, he was expendable. Especially for Mitchell. That said, upon being traded to the Jazz, there was nobody who was thinking of Markkanen as the player who would become the face of the franchise.<\/p>\n

As a result of Markkanen\u2019s All-Star transformation, their timeline was accelerated. However, Clarkson was still just a bit outside their new timeline.<\/p>\n

The Filipino Flame Thrower<\/h3>\n

Averaging 17.7 points and 3.6 assists per game as a Jazzman, Clarkson has been sizzling in Salt Lake City. He\u2019s scored 40 or more points three times since being traded to Utah and 30 or more points 20 times, numbers that rank seventh and 11th in Jazz history, respectively. He’s the Jazz’s all-time leader in 30-point games by a bench player. An instinctive scorer and imaginative shot-creator who has a knack for curling around defenders for short jumpers, his shots always feel like they\u2019re going in.<\/p>\n

Yet, while Filipino flamethrower has put up historically relevant scoring numbers in Utah, he\u2019s also grown as a playmaker.<\/p>\n

Though still a score-first player, he\u2019s consistently manipulating defenses to create open looks for his teammates. This season, he\u2019s already dished out 10 or more assists in a career-high four games. The magnum opus of his work to become an all-around player was his first career triple-double, which he recorded on the first day of 2024. It was Utah\u2019s first triple-double in 16 years<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jordan Clarkson\u2019s Options<\/h3>\n

Clarkson and the Salt Lake City community have taken to one another. However, in sports, being fond of a player doesn\u2019t guarantee that either they \u2014or the team they play for \u2014will ensure they remain in the same uniform for the remainder of their career. With that said, there are several options for Clarkson and the Jazz if they search for an offseason trade partner.<\/p>\n

The New York Knicks have already been linked<\/a> to Utah as a potential suitor. Having to surrender one of the best sixth men in the league in Immanuel Quickley<\/a> for them to acquire<\/a> OG Anunoby<\/a>, they could look to strike a deal with the Jazz this offseason due to their need of bench scoring. Several contenders, including the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns, face a similar issue.<\/p>\n

However, the best trade for all parties could be between Utah and the Oklahoma City Thunder.<\/p>\n

Jordan Clarkson to the Thunder?<\/h4>\n

Though another young team, the Thunder are further along in their rebuild. Led by a projected MVP finalist in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a>, they\u2019re poised to be one of the better teams out West for several years.<\/p>\n

In that effort, Clarkson fits many of OKC\u2019s needs. They lack bench scoring, averaging 33.0 points per game (t-17th in the NBA). They\u2019re facing questions about what to do with Josh Giddey<\/a> this offseason, and Clarkson could play the Aussie\u2019s playmaking role quite well. The Thunder also could benefit from his demonstrated ability to mentor young players. Conversely, Clarkson \u2014whose braids, tattoos, and nail polish symbolize teenage spirit \u2014would likely thrive around their youthful energy.<\/p>\n

For Utah, it\u2019s a trade that could bring them draft assets. To that point, the Thunder hold 35 picks through the 2030 NBA Draft. It could also lead to them reacquiring Gordon Hayward<\/a> in a sign-and-trade. This might not just soften the blow of Clarkson\u2019s departure on the court but off of it as well.<\/p>\n

The Jazz\u2019s primary option in the prime of his career, Hayward was well-liked throughout his time with the team. An all-around contributor with a nice shooting strike, he still has a bit left in the tank. Being able to play out the remainder of his career in Utah, where he was drafted in 2010, would be a poetic end to an emotionally charged career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After being shopped around the Feb. 8 trade deadline, Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson is \u201cvery likely\u201d to leave the team in the offseason, per Sarah Todd of Deseret News. \u201cI\u2019m not going to beat around the bush here,\u201d Todd writes. \u201cIt is very likely that this is Clarkson\u2019s last season with the Jazz. With […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":66984,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1608,62,3],"tags":[321,4774],"class_list":["post-66982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-jazz","category-basketball","category-nba","category-news","tag-jordan-clarkson","tag-rumors"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66982\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}