The Utah Jazz have tried to trade Jordan Clarkson for some time now, but have found no takers. Even with his contract set to expire, the Jazz may have to welcome the possibility that Clarkson will finish his deal in Utah. However, Portland showed through what they just did with Deandre Ayton that there is another option this offseason: waive him.
The Trail Blazers shocked the masses last night when ESPN's Shams Charania reported that the team was going to buyout the former No, 1 pick.
Breaking: Deandre Ayton is finalizing a contract buyout with the Portland Trail Blazers to become a free agent, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/DNYcNqRvkW
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2025
Ayton was owed $35 million for the 2025-26 season, is still pretty young, and even if he's overpaid, he's talented enough to contribute to a good team. That's why this is a truly rare occasion. HoopsHype's Michael Scotto provided more context on the situation following Charania's report.
Sources: Portland had trade discussions with several teams interested in Deandre Ayton. However, the Trail Blazers made it clear they didn’t want to take on any multi-year contracts in return, which made it challenging to find contracts and players to match his $35 million salary
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) June 30, 2025
Clarkson is owed substantially less, but this could also explain why Utah hasn't been able to pull the trigger on a deal. They may want him gone, but aren't willing to take long-term contracts to make that happen.
The Trail Blazers got rid of him simply because they couldn't find a trade for him and they also wanted to open up minutes for some of the other younger players on their roster who would want minutes, like Donovan Clingan and Yang Hansen. That sounds eerily similar to the Jazz's current situation with Clarkson, which is why it's not too hard to believe that he might end up right where Ayton is.
The Collin Sexton trade only exerts more pressure
If the situation wasn't already challenging enough, the Collin Sexton trade, along with recently traded players who share similar archetypes like Jordan Poole and Anfernee Simons, demonstrates how weak the market is for players like Clarkson.
Also, it's been mentioned before, and it should be reiterated: if trading Sexton required a second-round pick attached to him along with acquiring a worse player in Jusuf Nurkic for Utah, that's very telling about how low Clarkson's value is, given that he's currently a lesser player. His value may be so low that there simply isn't a trade out there for him, period.
Simply put, it's clear that players like him just aren't valued that much in today's NBA. He deserves props for getting another payday while he still could, but his contract, even while expiring, is too expensive for any trade suitor to want to invest in him because his flaws don't make him worth it.
So with all of that out there, the Jazz must think about whether the best course of action is simply waiving him. Utah traded Sexton primarily because they didn't want him getting in the way of their young guards. That risk is still there as long as Clarkson is with the team, as he will demand both minutes and touches like anyone else in his shoes would.
The Trail Blazers ripped that band-aid off with Ayton because when they assessed his value, they believed that buying him out was the best course of action. If the Jazz did the same thing with Clarkson, no one would blame them.