Fantasy Basketball: Is Jordan Clarkson Worth A Pick Up?

The Los Angeles Lakers have been really bad, but in the midst of the depravity, eventually some fantasy gems are going to have to be exhumed from all of the rubble. With Kobe Bryant shutting it down for the season, someone is going to have to do some scoring there and so far it has not been Jeremy Lin or Carlos Boozer. One would think that Nick Young would pick it up and lead the Lakers if you could call it that.

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So far the player who has appeared to be stepping up to the plate is Jordan Clarkson. Since January 23, Clarkson has averaged 34.2 minutes a game in five contests. He is also averaging 14.8 points, 2.8 assists, 1.2 steals, 2.6 steals and 1.0 three-pointers a game. He is looking to be a great add if he can keep this level of play up. I would go ahead and consider Clarkson a must-add player across all formats, but I would not break the bank trying to trade for him if you lost the waiver wire bid.

Clarkson is a 22-year-old rookie who was drafted with the 46th pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. Mitch Kupchak and the Lakers are very likely to ride him and see what they have in him. While I am not expecting Clarkson to be great, I would be for trying to acquire him in a dynasty league. According to BasketballReference.com Clarkson is basically producing about what they expect from him on a per 36 minute basis. At 6’5″ he presents some very nice size for a point guard.

If you make a move for him, I would not expect that he will produce much more than what you are seeing from him right now. There could be some minor improvements, but I don’t expect to see some light to switch on for him and have a rapid increase of his stats. That is why I caution you not to go trading for him and expect Jordan Clarkson to become your fantasy savior and lead you to the fantasy promised land. If you are just wanting to have a Lakers’ player on your team and feel the need to make a trade for him, then do so with the full disclosure of not expecting his numbers to exceed the averages from the last 5 games mentioned above.

I can see him maybe ending the season with 16 points, 3.5 assists and 4 rebounds a game or so. I would also be a bit weary of the rookie wall that he could hit somewhere along March when fantasy players in head-to-head leagues are counting on him the most. If I did land Clarkson off of the waiver wire, I would entertain offers for him and make sure that once he built up enough hype, which he should do, he could be traded in the right offer. So if Clarkson is on your waiver wire, then by all means snatch him up, wait for his hype to build up, and then trade him away for something a little bit more reliable.

Next: Should I Pick Up Terrance Jones?

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