Jordan Clarkson has "Knicks legend" written all over him. The 2020-21 NBA Sixth Man of the Year hasn't garnered much attention in the public eye since winning that award, but that's because he has been playing for the Utah Jazz, who have not been interested in "winning" any "basketball games" lately. He's also had some longer-term injuries the past few seasons, but still averaged 16.2 points and shot 36% from deep in 37 games.
Now on the Knicks after signing a one-year deal, Clarkson is suddenly in front of the most passionate fans in the NBA, and he's doing a great job early on to win their favor. Clarkson appeared on a live version of the Roommates Show this weekend, walked the Kith Fall runway show, and told his agent Rich Paul, "I wanna come to New York," before his deal with the team was signed. Clarkson clearly wants to be a Knick and he's going to outperform his $2.3 million dollar contract in about three weeks.
I'm not sure if the perception around the league of score-first guards has tanked beyond repair, if teams think Clarkson is washed up because they haven't watched him play for a few years, think he'll deal with more injuries the older he gets, or if Leon Rose and James Dolan are pulling a Steve Ballmer here (kidding, I swear, do not report this as news) but getting Clarkson on a vet minimum deal feels like a coup for this team no matter the reasoning. Of course Clarkson has his deficiencies as a player — but bench scoring will always be valuable, and Clarkson is still one of the best in the league at providing that.
What will Jordan Clarkson's role look like with the Knicks?
With Tom Thibodeau no longer running the team (for better or worse) the Knicks are far more likely to embrace a deeper bench than they have been in past years. Head coach Mike Brown will probably deploy Clarkson in a similar role as he played in Utah for the past six years; a sixth man who often plays as many minutes as the starters and closes games on occasion depending on the opponent.
He's not going to merely be a luxury for this Knicks team, either. Clarkson and Miles McBride are the only two reliable backup guards on this roster behind Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges. Maybe Tyler Kolek or Pacome Dadiet get a little burn in the dog days of the season, but expect Clarkson to be the first or second man off the bench to start the year. In a second unit that doesn't have much spot-up scoring, he'll be a welcome sight to the MSG crowd, a crowd that he already seems to be embracing outside of the stadium and on the streets of NYC.