Sitting Jordan Clarkson won't help his trade value but it'll help the Utah Jazz win games
By Chad Porto
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The Utah Jazz are not better with Jordan Clarkson on the court. He's turning the ball over at an alarming rate for someone who isn't known to pass. His shooting average is a barely NBA figure at 41% and he's barely above 30% when it comes to taking three-point shot attempts. He's also objectively one of the worst defensive players in the league.
You can argue all you want about his ability to score, but if you're scoring 17 points a game, but giving up 30 or so on your own, does it matter? The media may hyper-focus on the offense, and fantasy leagues may prioritize scoring, but if you're giving up nearly twice as much as you score, you're not an NBA player. You're a liability.
And that's Clarkson. Sure, he can get anywhere from 17-30 points a night depending on how his shot is falling, but he's getting scored on just about every time someone challenges him on defense. It's gotten to the point that just making him the sixth man on the roster isn't going to work. If you're not hitting your shots, and shooting at 40% or under per game, what help is he truly providing?
The belief is that Clarkson is getting these minutes because come mid-January, the Utah Jazz are going to trade him for whatever they can get. So playing him is going to help his trade value, in theory. Every team is watching Clarkson play, however, so we're not sure who in their right mind would want a net-negative player like Clarkson.
His season box plus-minus is -4.7, he's bad. He's awful and the Utah Jazz aren't going to win if he's touching the court. There's no denying this, he's simply a walking empty-stat machine, and every minute the Jazz play him is just one more minute that the reserves have to make up on their end. The Jazz won't win as long as Clarkson is on the roster.
It may seem wild to suggest outright sitting Clarkson, but what other choice do they have right now?
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