The Lakers had a great season up till now as they had a lot of ups and downs. After a terrible start winning only two out of the first twelve games, it is a wonder how they made it to the postseason. There were a lot of injuries to deal with, as well as a lack of balance on the roster. The team missed Anthony Davis since last December with a stress injury for as many as twenty games. But AD returned with a bang at a crunch time when the Lakers were about to lose all their chances to qualify.
LeBron James got injured and stayed out for a month. If it were not for Anthony Davis, the Lakers would have missed the postseason twice in a row. However, AD was not alone in this battle as he got great support from young guns like Austin Reaves, Dennis Schroder, D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, and others. Reaves and Schroder have been part of the Lakers for a while now.
Lakers Might Look At Jordan Clarkson To Bring In For 23-24 NBA Edition
An Eastern Conference executive mentioned that the Lakers might go after the Utah Jazz’s 6’4 guard, Jordan Clarkson. The anonymous executive spoke to Heavy Sports about the guard saying, “Any team would be lucky to have him. Teams must think that’s the kind of player we want. Someone who is an intelligent and reliable scorer from the bench or the starting lineup. He has a good presence in the locker room.” The Lakers had shown interest in buying him before, but the Jazz had given him a new deal. However, if Jazz plans to sell him, they might wait until there is more leverage involved.
According to the anonymous Eastern Conference source, “It won’t be surprising to see the Lakers jump on that opportunity if the Jazz presents it out.” Jordan Clarkson started his career with the Lakers back in the 2014-15 season. Furthermore, Jordan proved to be a quality scorer and expert in handling the ball. It did not take him much time to be a permanent member of the starting lineup of the Lakers. Later, Clarkson moved to Utah, and a couple of years ago, he won the Sixth Man of the Year Award. In the current season, he had an average of 20.8 ppg, 4.4 apg. Jordan Clarkson can be a free agent this summer if he declines a player option he holds for the next season.
Clarkson Might Replace Any Of The Free Agents
But the crucial February trades brought in D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley, Mo Bamba, and so on. It must be nothing short of a miracle that the Lakers made the playoffs. They embark on the playoffs journey from next Sunday onwards.
It has been great while it lasted, but the LA franchise will have to plan for the future as well. Players like Reaves, Russell, Hachimura, etc., are all going to be free agents after the current season gets over. The Lakers won’t be able to extend the contracts of all these players. They will have to look for replacement ideas as well.
