Late last Wednesday night, reports emerged that Jazz had replaced the bumpy Patrick Beverly with Lakers About Tallinn Horton Tucker and former outcast Stanley Johnson.
While it may be disappointing for some that Sixers This missed move by Beverly’s exclusive King—along with the blockbuster trade of Rudy Joubert and Donovan Mitchell—shows that jazz is very open to business.
And if former Sixth Man of the Year Jordan Clarkson becomes available, the Sixers should absolutely pounce — though it can be a little tricky.
Utah still has coveted veteran trade confirmations, including Bojan Bogdanovich, Jordan Clarkson and Mike Conley Jr. They will deal with a handful of draft assets in Oklahoma City once the deal is completed. The Jazz keepers Markkanen, Sexton and Agbaji in order to rebuild the roster.
- Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 1, 2022
Shot creation is one of the most important skills in the modern NBA. For far too long, the Sixers have sorely lacked individuals with the ability to create their own shot of the ocean. The addition of James Harden definitely helps. As does the appearance of Therese Maxi. But this list can certainly use more.
An isolation record is what the man affectionately known as a “flame thrower” does. Clarkson Record 0.97 points per possession In isolation (71st percentile) last season. Only 22.1 percent of Clarkson’s two-point field goals were assisted last season, which is actually up from 16.5 during the 6MOTY season.
Clarkson is a walking bucket, say the kids. Since 2018-19, it has averaged 30.9 points per 100 properties. This type of microwave oven is well suited to the role of a sixth man. He’s also bold, subtracting 12.8 three times for every 100 holdings during that time - hence the nickname. He has the ability to score in all three levels and do so at a high level any night.
If you only watched Clarkson against The Sixers in 2020-21, you’d think it was Allen Iverson.
Clarkson has also proven to be a strong playoff player. With the Jazz, he averaged 17.6 points per game in 24 post-season competitions with shooting splits of 45.4/35.3/94.4. To know he can still be a factor in the playoff rotation seems huge for a Sixers who have had deep issues over and over again in the post-season.
It’s not like Clarkson is just an ISO scorer either. At Utah he was mainly playing with the ball coming off the bench, but he showed his ability here and there to play off the ball and fly around the screens. It’s interesting to imagine Clarkson pairing up with Joel Embiid, running a two-man game similar to JJ Redick and Seth Curry. DHO can be particularly dangerous with Clarkson, who is a much bigger threat than recoil.
Clarkson is far from a perfect player. He can struggle efficiently, as his career indicates a 43.9 field goal percentage. He’s not the greatest playmaker of others, averaging just 4.6 passes per 100 possessions in his career. Nor will he be making any defensive teams anytime soon.
But with the Sixers’ additions of PJ Tucker, Danuel House and De’Anthony Melton - not to mention Embiid - they must have plenty of defensive and physical variety to make up for Clarkson’s presence.
The actual deal isn’t cut and dry. In order to make salaries match and Stay under the tax yardHowever, the Sixers will have to transfer Matisse Thybulle, Furkan Korkmaz and another lower salary to make it work. If they cast former first manager Jaden Springer, who is still only 19 years old, they might be able to tempt jazz. Thybulle and Springer are both wingers who can defend at a high level but are limited in attack. They are lottery tickets, much like the player they received for Beverly at Horton Tucker. Another sticking point is that Utah already has 17 players. Would they be interested in a 3-for-1 deal?
Daryl Morey and his teammates’ goals this season have been to add physical and mental toughness and improve a team’s defense that has lagged behind with the departure of Ben Simmons. With these goals being achieved through the above additions, adding a dynamic scorer in Clarkson feels like a move that could add even more qualifying depth and balance to the roster.