Daily Knicks
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7 Knicks free agent targets with ties to Julius Randle

By Josh Cornelissen

Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson and D'Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers. FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images
Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson and D'Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers. FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images /
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Jordan Clarkson, Cleveland Cavaliers, Julius Randle, Los Angeles Lakers (Photo by Josh Lefkowitz/Getty Images) – New York Knicks /

Knicks Free Agent Target No. 5: Jordan Clarkson, Combo Guard

The 2017-18 Los Angeles Lakers were like a large plant that scattered seeds to the wind, letting them float across the NBA to land in various places. A whopping 13 players from that team are still in the NBA and playing for nine different teams. Julius Randle and Josh Hart are together on the New York Knicks, and it’s very possible another alumnus from that team makes his way to the Knicks this summer.

We’ll hit on multiple other players from that team, but one player with a relatively low shot of coming to the Knicks is Jordan Clarkson. The combo guard bounced from Los Angeles to Cleveland to Utah, where he has carved out a role as a floor-raising on-ball scoring threat, winning Sixth Man of the Year two seasons ago and elevating into the starting lineup this season en route to averaging 20.8 points per game, a career-high.

The Utah Jazz are going through a soft rebuild, amassing a good young core of players to replace the last guard; Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles, Mike Conley, and Bojan Bogdanovic are out; Lauri Markkanen, Walker Kessler, Collin Sexton, Talen Horton-Tucker and Ochai Agbaji are in. Where does that leave Clarkson, the most prominent remaining player from the former group?

It may mean returning to provide some veteran presence on the Jazz, but more likely it means he will find a new home in free agency. Could there be a place as a Sixth Man scorer on the New York Knicks? It’s possible, and he has a rapport with Randle and Hart from their time on the Lakers. He probably wants a larger role or more money elsewhere, but the Knicks are an interesting landing place to pursue winning over shots.