Utah Jazz: Ranking Jordan Clarkson among Sixth Man of the Year candidates

Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson vs Atlanta Hawks guard Kevin Huerter

If Jordan Clarkson is a quintessential spark-plug, and Joe Ingles is the ultimate utility player, consider the man they call Red Velvet a sort-of hybrid of the two. His best season in the NBA so far came in his 2019-20 sophomore year, when Huerter averaged 12.2 points while shooting 38% on 6.0 three-point attempts per night.

That’s a solid season for a 21-year-old, but when you factor in Huerter’s 4.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, it becomes clear that this kid is a complete player. He comes equipped with the ability to hit difficult contested three-point attempts, set up teammates, and provide a little much-needed dirty work on the glass.

Nonetheless, there are two factors holding Huerter back from catching up with Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson in the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year race.

Firstly, the Hawks’ depth chart does not necessarily etch out a clear role for Huerter. He might be the primary backup small forward behind De’Andre Hunter, but Cam Reddish is probably a higher upside player and certainly a better defender. He’s also more-than-capable of backing up Bogdan Bogdanovic at the 2 spot, but on the other hand, he probably has a chance to take his place in the starting lineup as well.

Meanwhile, Lou Williams lies in wait at the shooting guard position as well. He’s pretty well-acquainted with the Sixth Man of the Year award. While Huerter should be comfortably ahead of him in the rotation, given Sweet Lou’s age, it’s not exactly clear that the younger off-guard won’t be forced to sacrifice shots to keep the veteran gunner content.

Secondly, Huerter did ever-so-slightly regress between his sophomore campaign and his third season in the NBA. While said regression was absolutely marginal, he’ll actually need to improve significantly if he hopes to surpass Jordan Clarkson as the NBA’s reigning Sixth Man of the Year.

Otherwise, Huerter only stands to improve the odds that at least one member of the Utah Jazz bring home the award for a consecutive year.