What should the Utah Jazz do about Jordan Clarkson? Does he have trade value?

Veterans and rebuilding basketball teams—it’s not always the most natural fit. For the Utah Jazz, a team knee-deep into an all-out tank job, discovering the proper role for each player on the depth chart is essential for both player development and creating a strong team culture to build from when the team has (in theory) developed into a championship contender.

The Jazz have struggled to find the proper balance for their roster since blowing up their all-star core of Mitchell and Gobert, with ruins of that era littering the locker room with no real direction. Now, with Utah’s ship veering into the vicious waves of the NBA lottery chase, signing talented veterans can feel like stuffing a square peg into a round hole—even a toddler knows that’s a bad idea.

I present the Jordan Clarkson dilemma. Clarkson is a flamethrower scorer, capable of offensive fireworks at a moment’s notice. With the contending Jazz, he was the perfect sparkplug scorer off the bench for offensive lulls. Now, as the roster is populated with young and developing talent, Clarkson’s value has become somewhat uncertain.

Now 31 years old, Clarkson is a former 6th Man of the Year who averaged 17 points per night during the 2023-24 season. He’s expanded his game with the Jazz—especially in regards to playmaking and rebounding. Don’t you remember when he earned the first triple-double the Jazz have seen in over a decade?