Los Angeles Lakers: Is Jordan Clarkson Still A Part Of The Team’s Future?
Not too long ago Jordan Clarkson was the future of the Los Angeles Lakers, but is that still considered the case?
Does Jordan Clarkson’s future still fall in line with the Los Angeles Lakers?
Right now it seems as if it doesn’t. He was asked to be the point guard of the future when he first came into league, however things have changed since then. They drafted D’Angelo Russell with the second pick the following season, and things have started to plateau for Clarkson ever since.
Besides becoming a more efficient scorer, Jordan Clarkson really hasn’t improved much. He’s a better defender then before, but his playmaking has taken a step back. At times it even seems as if he has tunnel vision, and he can start to play a little wild and out of control.
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There was evidence of that in a recent game between the Lakers and Pistons. In that game, Clarkson show just 3 of 10 from the field, dished out no assists and turned over the ball three times. That’s just one example, but he tends to do this a lot as of late.
Against Boston he did the exact same thing, shooting just 1 of 7 from the field, and dishing one assist in 22 minutes of action. When you almost have as many turnovers (114) as assists (128) on the season, that’s never a good look.
But there have been some positives to take away from his game defensively. He’s no longer a total sieve on that end, and instead he’s actually playing some of the best defense he’s ever had. In pick-and-roll situations, he’s only giving up 0.84 points per possession, but besides that he can continue to get better at some other areas on that end; one of those things being the ability to defend spot-up shooters.
Clarkson has a bad habit of over helping when he doesn’t need too, and this becomes even more of a headache when he’s asked to defend an excellent shooter. Take Devin Booker for example. Against Phoenix, whenever Clarkson was tasked with guarding Booker, he would still overcommit defensively, even though he’s defending one of the best young shooters in the game.
Things like that are what’s missing from the Lakers roster. Having high IQ basketball players becomes a necessity for winning teams. But the good thing is L.A. isn’t looking to win at this point in time.
Right now, the teams looking for who they’re going to continue to build with. Is that just Brandon Ingram, D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle? Because if it is, Jordan Clarkson is the lone youngster to be left off of that list. So that brings up another question, is he still apart of the Los Angeles Lakers future? Right now it seems as if that’s a no, however that can change at anytime.
But if he isn’t apart of their future there really isn’t a point to keeping him. All it does is have the coaching staff focus on one more player that they’ve got to help develop. And with another lottery pick coming in next season, that’s just going to be yet another player the coaches need to help get adjusted.
So with that said, it seems as if the best thing to do is simply trade him. It doesn’t do the Lakers any good having him on the roster, if they don’t plan on moving forward with him.
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It would also help Clarkson because he’s still a valuable young player in this league. Teams like Charlotte, Brooklyn and Philadelphia would all kill to have him on their rosters, so if the Los Angeles Lakers don’t want him anymore they need to move him in the offseason.