While Jeremy Lin continues to fall into the shadows of the Los Angeles Lakers' disappointing season, Jordan Clarkson has emerged as one of the lone bright spots for the team. The rookie point guard has certainly made the most of his time on the court as he begins to look like the real deal. As the Lakers give him more minutes on the court, are the grooming him to be the future of the franchise or simply trade away in the offseason?
Clarkson has a lot of people in his corner. Kobe Bryant has made statements about the potential of the point guard. Steve Nash has praised his abilities following one-on-one workouts. Head coach Byron Scott believes he has a lot to bring the team in years to come. Clarkson is certainly proving all of that true, it just remains to be seen if it will all happen with the Lakers.
According to NBC Los Angeles, several Lakers fans are unhappy with the potential Clarkson is showing on the court simply because he is helping Los Angeles win games and pushing them farther out of the NBA lottery. If Los Angeles does not end up with a top-five pick after the NBA's lottery, they will be forced to give up their first-round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers. It was part of the Steve Nash trade. While team officials probably like seeing Clarkson grow into a strong player, he could be hurting the franchise's future to rebuild.
Clarkson's value on the open market is growing. Teams will look to his success this season and see him as an excellent complement. Do the Lakers? The team needs draft picks. Clarkson could get them that. According to the Los Angeles Times, getting players like Rajon Rondo and Kevin Love are a priority for the Lakers in the offseason. Rondo confirmed to the Dallas Morning News that Bryant has certainly hinted at him about joining the Lakers and it is something he is not opposed to. Love has certainly expressed his desire to be on the West Coast and his fandom for the Lakers.
Los Angeles could easily opt to keep Clarkson for almost no money. The rookie is set to earn $845,000 next season and the team can make him a restricted free agent before the 2016-17 season for just the tune of $1.18 million. He certainly would be easy to keep on for next season, but with the team potentially falling in the draft, the need for picks could force Los Angeles to strike up a trade.