NBA Trade Rumors: Will the Los Angeles Lakers End Up Dealing Jordan Clarkson?
Clarkson's current contract runs through the 2019-20 NBA season
For fans of the Los Angeles Lakers, the recent run of losing seasons has not been easy to deal with. But one silver lining to all the defeats mounting up is that the team has now assembled a talented young core, though it may be one they will need to take pieces away from at some point.
Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram are probably destined for long careers in Laker uniforms, but the other young guys on the team may not have roster spots that are as secure.
For instance, the name of guard Jordan Clarkson has been brought up in trade talks before, and it is not unreasonable to imagine him being moved in the near future.
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Skilled as Clarkson may be at scoring, he is not exactly the most versatile player on the Lakers' roster. And while he may have been a nice find for a lottery team going nowhere at the time he signed his current contract, the team may be better off using the cap space allotted for his deal for something, or rather, someone else.
This is something the Lakers are apparently mindful of as well.
Speaking recently to Bleacher Report, one individual within the organization shared that the team is "confident" that it can trade Clarkson should the need arise for additional cap space to be opened up.
The Lakers are expected to be big players in next summer's free agent market, and in order to sign the best guys available, they will need to open up as much cap space as they can.
The Lakers dealing Clarkson will not be some kind of sign that he is not worth the money on his deal or that he is unwanted. It may just be simple math. Given that Clarkson's deal will take up a chunk of cap space if the Lakers keep it on the books, the team may simply have to move him if they have big plans in free agency.
Still, if any Clarkson trade is going to happen, it will likely take place closer to next summer than this offseason, as the team may be content to go into the season with the team they have now and evaluate once again closer to the trading deadline.
Perhaps Jordan Clarkson still has some potential left to tap into that can convince the Los Angeles Lakers to keep him long-term, but if he does not, then his time with the team may be ending before his current contract expires.
