The New York Knicks still want Jordan Clarkson, for some reason, and after the last few games, the Nets, or really anyone, can have him. His shooting has rebounded nicely, shooting 45% from the floor through January but his defense has fallen off so badly that his mediocre scoring no longer makes him worth using. It's gotten to a point where he no longer even tries on defense and his offense is so limited over the last eight games he's only broken 20-points once.
Considering how many more he gives up, having nights of 13 or 16 points isn't going to cut it with him. He's such a net-negative on defense that he has to have stellar scoring performances nightly to warrant playing him.
We're long past that point. Rumors persist from Michael Scotto of HoopsHype that the Knicks still want Clarkson and maybe even Kelly Olynyk too. With injuries to some of their key players, this makes sense. That said, they don't have a lot to offer in any tangible young players. They have some picks that may be worthwhile but no one the Jazz would get back from the Knicks would be able to help them win right now.
But as Clarkson has been so bad that trading him may be an addition by subtraction. His lack of effort on defense has been an issue for weeks if not longer, and his inability to get in front of guys has led to the front court getting more abused than most.
Granted, the Jazz aren't going to be much better without Clarkson, Keyonte George will likely then get more minutes and he's a bad defender too. The team will need to make another move to add a wing defender even if they trade Clarkson but at least without Clarkson, you can maybe give Ochai Agbaji some minutes to help the defense.
Regardless, it's time to say goodbye to Clarkson.