NEW JERSEY – Despite persistent trade rumors, Filipino-American guard Jordan Clarkson remained with the rebuilding Utah Jazz to start the new NBA season.
The 30-year-old guard has a big fan in the Utah organization, and it is no less than the Jazz owner Ryan Smith.
The Los Angeles Lakers tried to get Clarkson back, but the Jazz made it clear that Smith had no intentions of letting him go, according to The Athletic.
The Phoenix Suns also reportedly inquired about Clarkson in a possible swap with former Jazz Jae Crowder, per Yahoo! Sports.
Clarkson is expected to start and fill the shooting guard spot left by Donovan Mitchell, who was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Clarkson played that role in the preseason to mixed results. He averaged 12.3 points in 23.2 minutes but only shot 37 percent from the field. Last season, he shot 42% from the field in 79 games as Utah’s sixth man. His efficiency took a hit against opposing starting units in the preseason.
Clarkson, however, found other ways to help the team by adding 3.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists.
Before the training camp, Clarkson wasn’t sure about his future with the Jazz after the team traded away their franchise cornerstones Mitchell and Rudy Gobert and veteran sharpshooter Bojan Bogdanovic.
“Whatever direction management, owners, and the team are trying to go, I’m ready for it,” Clarkson said.
“I’m just trying to win and take whatever team it is to the next level to hopefully win a championship one day,” Clarkson added. “That’s my outlook on it.”
He was one of Utah’s veteran players who were believed to be on the trade block until the report about Smith’s plans for him came out earlier this month.
While the Jazz were tearing down their roster in the offseason, Clarkson tuned out the noise by suiting up for the Philippines in the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
Clarkson averaged 25.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists in two games, including his first-ever game in his mother’s homeland.
With a starting role, Clarkson could approximate those gaudy numbers with the Jazz.
“If I’m here in Utah, I want to win,” Clarkson said. “I want to strive for the playoffs, try to put a team together that could win something.”
Clarkson should be in for a rude awakening, as winning is far from the Jazz’s goals this season.
Utah posted a 1-3 record in the preseason, losing by an average of 17.7 points. It’s a portent of things to come.
With three first-round picks, the Jazz have their eyes on next year’s draft headlined by generational talent Victor Wembanyama.
Clarkson and the Jazz open what could be a long, agonizing season for them at home against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday (Thursday Manila time).
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Alder Almo is a former senior sportswriter for Philstar.com and NBA.com Philippines. He is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey, and writes for the New York-based sports website empiresportsmedia.com.