Jordan Clarkson trade rumors might be premature, but they make sense.
More trade rumors begin to swirl around the young core.
Over the last month or so, the Lakers have been in the media about trade rumors surrounding D'Angelo Russell and to a certain point, none of them made much sense. But yesterday, a new rumor developed about Jordan Clarkson. According to some reports, the Lakers are rumored to be having an "increasingly open-mind" about trading Jordan Clarkson and then this morning one report stated that the Lakers are actively seeking offers for Clarkson. These rumors come across as a little premature because Magic Johnson himself recently said that he hopes that he can keep Clarkson as he believes JC can become a great defender for the Lakers. Clarkson played a majority of the season being a counterpart to Lou Williams off the bench. Once Williams was traded, Clarkson saw an increasing role as well as a new starting position where he and D'Angelo Russell both impressed. But with the Lakers likely getting ready to draft Lonzo Ball, Clarkson might be heading back to the bench.
Though premature, these rumors make sense. Out of the young core, Jordan Clarkson is possibly the most expendable Laker. He's getting ready to be 25, in basketball standards you are in your peak at that age. They also have to understand that the revolving door of Clarkson, Russell, and Ball might be too much to handle in terms of minutes distribution. Russell is bound to receive atleast 30 minutes or more next year and Ball will need to be given alot of minutes. Let's not forget that Brandon Ingram will be getting alot of minutes as well.