The writing's been on the wall for almost two years now that Jordan Clarkson's days with the Utah Jazz are numbered. The length of his contract stopped anyone from going after Clarkson, but that shouldn't be a problem now since he only has a season and a half left on his deal.
The Jazz aren't even expecting much for Clarkson in a trade, as the price is set at second-round compensation. Since Clarkson has such low trade value, it's hard not to see a playoff contender going after him since he's not overpaid and evidently wouldn't cost much.
ESPN proposed a trade that would help the Jazz move on from Clarkson while putting him on a team that could certainly use him. They proposed the following trade between the Jazz and Orlando Magic.
Magic receive: Clarkson
Jazz receive: Cole Anthony, two second-round picks
They didn't delve into much detail about why the Jazz would do it, though it's obvious why the Magic would. The Magic are a defensively stout team without much offensive firepower. That has become blatantly obvious with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner absent due to their injuries.
Clarkson would help fix that issue on paper, though he would also be considered a weak link on one of the NBA's best defenses. Then again, Clarkson has never exactly been a good defender, but that didn't stop the Jazz from playing him regularly during the height of the Donovan Mitchell/Rudy Gobert days.
A trade like this is doing right by Clarkson because he's still good enough to be a contributor on a playoff-caliber team, but is this a good deal for the Jazz? Oh yeah.
This is about as ideal as the Jazz could ask for Clarkson
If the report about Clarkson's value is true, then a deal like this is about as good as the Jazz could expect because they get second-round compensation and acquire a young scorer worth taking a flyer on.
Anthony's not the most efficient scoring guard, but he's good enough (and young enough( that it can't hurt the Jazz overall. Since the Jazz are tanking, it's not like Anthony is some massive game-changer. Since the Jazz have helped players like Clarkson find their footing, who's to say they can't work the same magic on Anthony?
A Clarkson trade also gives the emerging Brice Sensabaugh a bigger role, which is something he's earned after the role he's played in their most recent wins. Of all the proposed trades for Clarkson, this is probably the best one out there.
Grade: A+