Los Angeles Lakers Confident They Can Trade Guard Jordan Clarkson to Free Up Cap Space
The Los Angeles Lakers' goal is clear between now and the summer of 2018. The team needs to free up as much salary cap space as possible so they can have the flexibility to pursue the likes of LeBron James and Paul George once they enter the free agent market.
Luol Deng is as good as gone after he expressed his desire to leave in November, and Julius Randle's name has come up in trade rumors recently.
But interestingly, the Lakers don't seem to be in any hurry to trade guard Jordan Clarkson.
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During an appearance on ESPN's "Full Court Press," Adrian Wojnarowski talked about Clarkson's situation and he said the Lakers may hold on to him until the offseason because they need him right now. He also noted that the Lakers are confident they can move Clarkson after the season.
"They believe they can trade Jordan Clarkson and get his money off. They prefer not to do it at the trade deadline. Clarkson has helped them win games this year, and because they don't have their pick, they want to win as many games as they can. So I think there's some confidence there that they can find a deal for Clarkson after the season, to get his money off. But there's got to be a sequencing here. And it gets back to, are they going to chase one max-salary slot, or two?" Wojnarowski said, via Lakers Nation.
Clarkson has been quite inconsistent in December, but he has been known to heat up quite quickly and he should draw a lot of interest if he continues to provide instant offense off the bench.
The fourth-year guard is averaging 14 points, 2.9 rebound and 3.1 assists in under 23 minutes per game this season, and he's shooting 45.5 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from three-point range, and 77.8 percent from the free-throw line.
