In the apron era, it's become even more important for good teams to find players who can play a key role at a relatively low cost. Teams can’t pay top dollar for everyone.
The New York Knicks have done a great job finding players outside the starting lineup who have been rather productive on veteran's minimum contracts. Last season, it was Landry Shamet. Jordan Clarkson was also signed to a minimum deal last year and is on one again this season.
Anyone who’s watched the Knicks lately can see how valuable Clarkson has been.
Clarkson has been incredible to start the year
Trivia question: Through their first nine games this season, who leads the Knicks in plus/minus?
That would be Jordan Clarkson at +58. What makes that even more remarkable is that his 83 minutes played are only the 10th-most on the team. In each of his first eight appearances, New York has outscored their opponent with the 34-year-old on the court.
Now in his 13th NBA season, Clarkson won’t post the prolific scoring numbers that earned him the Sixth Man of the Year award previously.
Clarkson has a DNP-CD in a game against the Detroit Pistons. He's had a couple of games where he didn’t enter until the second half. What's been constant is that whenever he comes in, Clarkson seems to inject New York with a jolt of energy.
He’s still hitting the offensive glass as he did in the latter stages of last season, when he again provided immense value for a minimum-salary guy. Last year, Clarkson went nearly two months without hitting a 3-pointer from March until May. This year, he’s 6-for-9.
Through the first three weeks of the season, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone on a veteran’s minimum who has been more of a boon to their team than Clarkson has been for the Knicks.
Shamet entered training camp last year on a non-guaranteed deal
Remember, Shamet wasn't even guaranteed a spot on the Knicks roster heading into last year’s training camp. He was on a non-guaranteed deal, and many saw Malcolm Brogdon as the favorite to earn the one available roster spot.
Instead, Brogdon retired, and Shamet made the club. Shamet went on to make 11 of his 12 3-point attempts in the Eastern Conference Finals and played 24.2 minutes per game in the NBA Finals.
Shamet earned a four-year, $24 million contract in the offseason. At 29, Shamet is five years younger than Clarkson, so Clarkson likely doesn’t have a similar deal waiting for him next offseason. The Knicks are certainly reaping the rewards of having him on a veteran’s minimum deal, though.
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