Getty Lakers GM Rob Pelinka (left) and head coach Darvin Ham at media day
The Los Angeles Lakers reportedly tried to trade for a $51 million shooting guard.
According to an October 3rd report from Sam Amick, Shams Charania and Jovan Buha of The Athletic, the Lakers tried to land former Laker Jordan Clarkson from the Utah Jazz before it was made clear that Utah owner Ryan Smith had no intentions of letting him go.
“But the Lakers still wanted to exhaust every available option to improve the roster. They had explored ways of landing Nets star Kyrie Irving during the offseason, discussed concepts with the Jazz around Bojan Bogdanovic prior to him being traded to the Pistons for Kelly Olynyk and Saben Lee and even tried to land former Laker Jordan Clarkson from the Jazz before it was made clear that Utah owner Ryan Smith had no intentions of letting him go,” Amick, Charania and Buha reported. “All roads continued to lead to a potential framework with the Pacers.”
Clarkson began his NBA career with the Lakers in 2014-15. The Florida native appeared in 273 games with the franchise and averaged 14.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists. The Lakers traded Clarkson to the Cleveland Cavaliers at the 2018 trade deadline, where the guard played with LeBron James. The Cavaliers reached the 2018 NBA Finals and lost to the Golden State Warriors in four games. James left Cleveland in the summer of 2018 to sign with the Lakers as an unrestricted free agent.
After James departed the Cavaliers, the team entered rebuild mode. Clarkson spent the entire 2018-19 season in Cleveland before getting traded to the Jazz in December 2019. The Tulsa and Missouri product had a breakout season in 2020-21, winning the Sixth Man of the Year Award by averaging 18.4 points.
Clarkson Would Have Been a Great Fit on the Lakers
Clarkson, 30, would have been a great fit on the Lakers since he can shoot and score the ball at a high level. The 6-foot-4 guard made 190 3-pointers last season while averaging 16.0 points.
Los Angeles could have traded Russell Westbrook and his expiring contract to the Jazz in exchange for Clarkson and other players. The Lakers were interested in Clarkson, Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic, three veterans Utah made available in trade talks after trading All-Stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell.
In a September 9th piece, Heavy’s Sean Deveney proposed that the Lakers trade Westbrook and a 2027 first-round pick to the Jazz for Conley and Clarkson. That deal can happen under CBA rules.
“Conley would be the real prize here, a veteran set-up point guard who can run the team, score when he needs to and generally fit a role,” Deveney wrote. “The bonus: The Lakers would be free of the Westbrook experiment and get a remade bench with (Patrick) Beverley and Clarkson leading the charge. Also, it costs the Lakers just one first-rounder. Teams talking with the Lakers about Westbrook have held out hope that they can force L.A. to give up both of its available picks, in 2027 and 2029. The thinking has been that one pick is for taking on Westbrook’s contract and buying him out, and the other is for the players the Lakers would receive in return.
“The Lakers have resisted that notion and as training camp approaches, the Pacers or Jazz are weighing whether taking on Westbrook is worth just one of the Lakers picks, both of which figure to be valuable. If the Lakers hold firm, after all, the teams could wind up with none of L.A.’s future picks.”
Clarkson on Potential Trade: ‘I’m Ready for Whatever Happens’
Clarkson has been traded twice since entering the NBA, so he’s ready for whatever happens next. The combo guard just wants to win a championship before he retires.
“I’m ready for whatever happens,” Clarkson told Mike DeStefano of Complex in September. “If I’m in a different jersey in a week or tomorrow I get a phone call and I have to put on whatever jersey it is, I’m just trying to win and take whatever team it is to the next level to hopefully win a championship one day.”
Clarkson will make $13.3 million this season. He signed a four-year, $51.5 million contract with Utah in November 2020.