It is somewhat poetic that Jordan Clarkson received the starting nod for the New York Knicks in their Wednesday night double-overtime win against the Denver Nuggets. Because with the trade deadline fast approaching, it just might be the last game he ever plays for them.
In many ways, the writing has been on the wall for a while. Clarkson saw his minutes get slashed in the second half of January as the Knicks got healthier, and has racked up four DNPs over the past two weeks alone.
Still, there’s a difference between being a trade candidate, and being the player most likely to get shipped out. Clarkson is now the latter.
The Knicks are running out of obvious trade candidates options
Guerschon Yabusele has for so long been considered the player most likely to be relocated. And if the Knicks get their way, he certainly will be.
Related: The Knicks may not get their way.
Potential trade partners remain turned off by Yabusele’s $5.8 million player option for next season. New York isn’t getting him off its books without including a sweetener or two. And while it might be willing to do just that, its attempt is complicated by the desire to parlay Yabusele into someone who actually plays.
Moving him and making a roster upgrade could require assets the Knicks don’t have at their disposal, or that they aren’t willing to surrender. The odds of the front office pearl-clutching the team’s available first-rounds swaps and second-round picks goes up if Giannis Antetokounmpo remains with the Milwaukee Bucks through Thursday.
New York is wearing thin on obvious trade candidates after Guerschon Yabusele. It isn’t knifing into the top seven unless a can’t-miss opportunity reveals itself. Getting rid of Landry Shamet would be franchise malpractice given how little he’s making, and the impact he’s providing.
Tyler Kolek’s spot in the rotation is hazy if everyone’s healthy, but the Knicks aren't about to punt on him just to add marginal optionality. Ariel Hukporti is easily movable, but Mitchell Robinson’s health bill and Yabusele’s struggles make it difficult to dump him without landing another big.
Jordan Clarkson is the Knicks player most likely to be traded
No, we’re not forgetting about Pacome Dadiet. He’s just not that easy to move. Though only 20 years old, he’s shown very little at the NBA level. Teams might want a second-round pick to take him on, and he’s a touch harder to ship out since he makes slightly above the minimum.
That as much as anything else elevates Clarkson into the “Most Likely Goner” throne. Pretty much any team can absorb his minimum salary without sending additional money out. The Knicks can probably get him off their books simply by offering cash considerations.
It will be a genuine shocker if New York gets to Thursday’s 3 p.m. EST buzzer, and doesn’t strike a deal. Even if it doesn’t have assets to acquire a real difference-maker, the front office needs to increase wiggle room beneath the second apron to offer midseason contracts to veterans who negotiate buyouts, and perhaps to convert Kevin McCullar Jr. from a two-way contract to a standard deal.
Combine this with Clarkson’s diminished role, on top of the hurdles the team faces when trying to deal others, and it all points toward the same thing: JC having potentially, if not likely, played his last game for the Knicks.