Grade the trade pitch: Jazz get youth and flexibility for Jordan Clarkson
By Matt John
A key question worth pondering about regarding the Utah Jazz - how desperate are they to trade Jordan Clarkson?
The Jazz have struggled to find a market for Clarkson, and a lot of that has to do with how cautious NBA teams are with their salary cap right now.
In hindsight, the Jazz should have traded Clarkson the first chance they got once they mostly dismantled the Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert era, but not all hope is lost yet.
It appears Clarkson will likely start the season with the Jazz, but the upside here is that Clarkson's deal will only become shorter and shorter as the season progresses. In that same time, playoff teams will try to find any way they can to get better, so Clarkson could still fit as a trade candidate for playoff contenders.
Bleacher Report's Dan Favale proposed a trade that would send Clarkson to the Los Angeles Clippers, and surprisingly, the Jazz don't get ripped off. He proposed the following swap:
Clippers Receive: Clarkson
Jazz Receive: P.J. Tucker, Amir Coffey, 2030 second-round pick*, 2031 second-round pick
Why the Jazz make the trade
Favale explained why the Jazz would agree to this deal. More or less, he believes the Jazz probably can't find anything better at this point.
"Utah can try holding out for a better offer but might not do better than an expiring contract and seconds. Clarkson is unlikely to net a first-rounder on his own."
It's hard to disagree with Favale here. Since the Jazz haven't found a taker for Clarkson when they were hoping to extract assets from him, they've run out of time on that front. Other trades proposed for Clarkson would be a heist for the Jazz if they got that kind of package for him.
Favale then explained why the Jazz would take that Clippers package back for Clarkson.
"Coffey isn't your typical throw-in, either. He never needs the ball on offense, and the Clippers have used him (in spurts) to guard the 1 through 4. And though getting off the final year of Clarkson's contract (2025-26) isn't a necessity, Tucker's expiring deal does afford the Jazz some additional flexibility—either as a midseason trade chip or straight cap savings over the summer."
This might be the best the Jazz can hope for
It's not an ideal trade for the Jazz at this point, but they can't really expect ideal at this point. Their mindset might be, "Here, take him. Just don't make us swallow any bad contracts whole."
Coffey is a solid player who the Jazz could dangle later on for actual assets if they decide he doesn't fit their timeline. Tucker could be the new Otto Porter Jr. where the Jazz will waive him, except he would likely want to keep playing knowing who he is.
Trading Clarkson would mean the Jazz can focus on their younger players or giving Collin Sexton more playing time to market him for interested parties. As long as they don't give up any first-rounders with him, and if they have the opportunity to open up some cap flexibility, this is a pretty good deal.
Grade: B+