New Jazz Rumor Hints at Jordan Clarkson's Future in Utah
The NBA rumor mill continues to provide clues to what the future may hold for Utah Jazz shooting guard Jordan Clarkson.
Bleacher Report's NBA insider Chris Haynes is reporting that the Jazz and Clarkson are currently discussing a possible extension that could happen during the season.
“The situation is fluid as both sides are working toward a resolution that could even result in shelving talks and letting the 2020-21 Sixth Man of the Year test free agency next summer when he would be one of the top guards on the market. It would require Clarkson, 30, to decline his $14.3 million player option. He's averaging career highs of 20.1 points and 4.5 assists per game.”
The breadcrumbs have always been there, leading Jazz fans to believe that Utah’s brain trust wants to retain Clarkson. Unfortunately for the Jazz, Clarkson will have more leverage in negotiations due to his stellar play on the court and ability to opt-out in a year with a weak free-agent class.
The question on everyone's mind is, what if there's no agreement during the season? It would be very naive to believe that if the Jazz and Clarkson can't come to terms, that executive Danny Ainge wouldn't shop their second-leading scorer at the NBA trade deadline.
Clarkson would move the needle for multiple teams pushing for a championship, and the price to obtain his services might be too difficult for a team like Jazz to pass up. It sounds a lot like the dilemma that the Jazz faced with Gordon Hayward once upon a time.
Does Utah risk making the same mistake it did with Hayward?
Stay tuned.
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