Jordan Clarkson came on strong in the 2nd half of the season when he was inserted into the starting lineup in the 45th game of his rookie campaign. That first start came against the Spurs where Clarkson scored 11 points on 5-9 shooting while chipping in three rebounds and four assists. It wasn’t an eye popping performance and his statline doesn’t necessarily stand out, but that game showed glimmers of a rookie who could play in this league.
Fast forward over the rest of the season and Clarkson did more than show glimmers – he proved to be one of the better players on the team. Post All-Star break, Clarkson started 28 of the team’s 29 games (missing the last game of the year due to injury) and averaged 16.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 5.4 assists while shooting 47.9% from the floor and 84.3% from the FT line.
It was on the strength of those numbers that Clarkson was named to the NBA’s All-Rookie 1st Team. He is joined by Rookie of the Year Andrew Wiggins, Nerlens Noel, Nikola Mirotic, and Elfrid Payton. Clarkson earned 74 1st team votes and 52 2nd team votes, for a total of 200 points. That was 58 points better than Marcus Smart who headlines the 2nd Team.
NBA All-Rookie First & Second team: pic.twitter.com/xi7mxNDAXy
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) May 18, 2015
It is interesting Clarkson edged out Smart since the latter was a player the Lakers were linked to heavily in the lead up to last June’s draft. The Lakers, of course, ended up selecting Julius Randle with their #7 pick with Smart going one pick earlier to the Celtics at #6. Time will tell who will end up the better player between Randle and Smart, but the fact that Clarkson, the 46th pick in the draft, ended up making the 1st team speaks volumes to his growth and play as the year progressed and the Lakers’ ability to find a gem later in the draft.
Hopefully, Clarkson can build on his success from the second half of last season and carry that over into this Summer and next season. Considering his work ethic and ability to take in what he learns off the court and apply it to game situations, I know we are all thinking he can. So, here’s to more plays like the ones below next season and beyond.
Shaun says
Congrats jordan – thankfully the rest of tbe media saw what we saw hooorah
Baylor Fan says
Here is to the Lakers being able to keep Clarkson beyond next season.
Todd says
Kudos to Jordan for a well deserved award.
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My response to Darius’ comments on the previous thread:
Darius: The question will be, of course, if they can make the right decisions and have enough things break their way for that to happen. Whether those things occur will have little to do with the Clippers, imo.
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Agreed that the Clippers are a non-issue if the Lakers go about their business and start making decisions that work. The first decision is tomorrow night. If the Lakers lose their pick the masses will be asking the FO why they chose to pursue so many meangless wins with so much riding on keeping this pick.
The reality is that neither team can operate in a vacuum. The Lakers and Clippers are going to be vying for the same free agent talent in the coming years and for the first time in my memory the Clippers actually have a better story to tell. Up to now the Lakers have had a monopoly on the LA market. A position, which gave the FO a huge margin for error with the media and the local fan base. My gut says that will be changing.
Ballmer helped make Microsoft an incredibly effective brand marketing company. What if the Clippers start to woo the casual basketball fan? Current basketball loyalties in LA probably skew 80/20 in the Lakers favor — what happens when that percentage slips to 60/40 or 55/45 Lakers? What happens to the Lakers’ ancillary revenues? You can’t tell me that wouldn’t be cause for concern in Lakerland.
Darius Soriano says
Baylor Fan,
The Lakers will place a RFA tender on Clarkson after this season if they do not look to extend him before the summer. This will give them the right of first refusal in FA and allow them to match any offer due to possessing his early-Bird Rights. I’m not concerned about Clarkson being a Laker for at least 3 years (including his rookie season). I’m not even concerned about him being one beyond that time, it will just be a matter of what his salary will be, really.
Darius Soriano says
Todd,
As I said in the last thread: No offense, but it’s a leap to say “what happens when that percentage slips to 60/40 or 55/45 Lakers?” as if it’s simply a given it happens. When the announcement was made at the Dodgers game that the Clippers had been eliminated, the crowed cheered. Yes, that’s one venue, but it’s indicative of where the city leans in terms of basketball allegiance. I know you acknowledged that in your comment, but to say it and then imply as if a drastic shift in that isn’t just probable, but likely seems far fetched.
Chris J says
Carrying this over, since Todd and Darius are discussing it in this string…
But I think folks that believe that LA will always be a Lakers’ city are mistaken.
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Counterpoint — The Angels have won a World Series, and made the playoffs several times since, whereas the Dodger haven’t won a title since Reagan was still in the White House. But L.A. is still a Dodgers town.
Likewise, the White Sox have won a Series but Chicago is still a Cubs town, aside from a small part in the South Side. And the Yankees didn’t make the playoffs for years in the 80s, early 90s, while the crosstown Mets won a World Series and had the town’s biggest stars. But New York was and always will be a Yankees town.
The Clippers will grow their fan base — how could they not, playing in front of 7,000 people for so many seasons? But the reports of the Lakers’ overall demise as L.A.’s top dog are greatly exaggerated. You can’t replicate decades of dominance, and a few bad years won’t erase the connection fans have with the Laker organization.
Just my two cents…
rr says
Just my two cents…
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I think these are good points. The Lakers have a huge fanbase and a powerful brand that can survive a lot of losing/title droughts. In that respect, they are like the Yankees, the Dodgers, the Cowboys, the Raiders, the Canadiens, Notre Dame football, Real Madrid, Man U, and a few more. But I would add two caveats and a third point:
1. Many young people, kids, and casual fans will go with the winner. I live in SD now, but I still used to see people wearing Kobe and Lakers jerseys all the time. Not anymore. Now I see Curry and Griffin jerseys.
2. If the two teams are at some point bidding on the same FA, the Clippers no longer have the stench of Sterling and constant losing.
That said, the Clippers still really need to win the title or at least make the Finals to build their brand. Even a losing seven-game battle with GS in the WCF would have helped. Blowing a 3-1 lead in the conference semis doesn’t get casual fans and 13-year-olds to come into your tent, IMO.
tankyou says
I think Clarkson was a great pick-up and he’s definitely better than a lot of the other 1st round picks. I wasn’t high on Smart at all, he’s kind of slow and that was obvious in the playoffs–and he’s going to be defending guys quicker than him all the time. He’s more of a combo guard, but since Smart thus far has proven he can’t shoot very well, he basically needs to be a PG.
Clarkson honestly I see as basically a Jeremy Lin with more hops. He’s a combo guard that may end up developing into a decent PG, he’s a great slasher to the hoop like Lin. If he continues to improve his shooting he will be a solid starter. But I have to say his form isn’t the best, but hey either is Jeremy Lin’s and he’s shooting nearly 37% from three now so there is room for improvement for sure. I don’t see Clarkson as a go to guy, but maybe he can be a nice 3rd option that can break down defenses, which is a great thing to have. Again I just hope Kobe playing next year doesn’t harm his development, since it appears Kobe will dominate the ball completely which won’t give him much chance to develop PG chops, and he won’t be given free reign like he was during the second half of the season when they just messing around out there, not really playing winning basketball.
At this point the only thing that really interests me about this next season is 1)who we draft 2)Randle playing and moving him from question mark to what he honestly may develop into 3)FA moves, and hopefully dropping Jordan HIll, and Swaggy if someone will take him. 4)Hoping Kobe helps develop guys and doesnt’ ball dominate and doesn’t end his last season with another injury.
Either way, Lakers are going to be bad next year, but hopefully it won’t be so bad that they start “experimenting with the roster” half way through the season in a tank-light move.
Craig W. says
The Clipper loss hurt the Clippers more than the win helped the Rockets – IMO. It is the Clippers who have to overcome their losing inertia. Houston is still the only basketball team in town.
Again IMO – the Clippers have to find another city before they can truly establish a different identity. Perhaps become the Sonics. This is not Laker sour grapes, but simply an acknowledgement that LA is a one-horse town, pro basketball-wise.
Craig W. says
Clarkson has certainly proved the Lakers can find talent. Now they have to rinse and repeat, regardless what happens TUE night.
Baylor Fan says
Darius, thanks for the clarification on Clarkson.
Ballmer was known as a mean spirited bully at Microsoft and does not know very much about basketball. It was still good to see the Clippers lose since it still leaves their team in an uproar over what to do this summer. Even with endlessly deep pockets, they cannot buy their way into restocking their team with a competent bench. Since they need to resign Jordan, they will start next season well over the salary cap.
It is interesting that the two old-school coaches who like to run their starters into the ground will be at their respective homes watching the conference finals. Teams need deep benches to have enough healthy and rested players to make long playoff runs.
Mid-Wilshire says
Congratulations to Jordan Clarkson. Well done. Considering that JC was invisible for the first half of the season, this is quite an accomplishment. How many of us at the All Star Break even imagined that Jordan Clarkson would end up being chosen for the All Rookies NBA 1st team? Amazing, really.
BTW, now is not the time to be dismissive of Jordan Clarkson, referring to him as nothing more than a “Jeremy Lin with hops.” He has just been recognized as one of the 5 best rookies in his incoming class. We should salute and congratulate him. Anything less is mean-spirited and, frankly, classless.
Once again, great job, JC.
bryan S. says
tankyou: At least you are consistent in your modest appraisal of Clarkson. I’ll be happy to revisit your assessment with you this coming season. Bah.
Robert says
Darius: With regard to Doc the GM getting in the way of Doc the coach: I could not agree more. Owners should own, GM’s should manage, and Coaches should coach. The only way you would want someone to do two jobs at once would be if there was “overwhelming” evidence that they would be good at both. The only place where that is currently true is San Antonio. Certainly there is nobody in LA who is capable of being a GM/Coach, or an Owner/GM. Both situations need to change. Ironically the similarities do not stop there. The Clippers established a new form of NBA nepotism when Doc coached his son. So the LA teams both occupy Staples, both have unique nepotism, and both have a guy who “thinks” he can do two jobs, even though results suggest otherwise
bryan S. says
Robert: Brilliant. An unparalleled ability to spin anything back to your pet argument!
Todd says
bryan S. Robert: Brilliant. An unparalleled ability to spin anything back to your pet argument!
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Robert and I are kindred spirits — we love the Lakers but have serious doubts about who is at the helm and their ability to navigate a path back to being competitive. I think in light of all the questionable decisions the FO has made and the fact that we have set a franchise record for most losses in consecutive seasons allows us some latitude in expressing our thoughts.
I cannot stress enough that (from my perspective) what the Lakers are experiencing is not due to some natural cycle or harmonic convergence of bad luck. Simply put: the FO has made bad decisions – a lot of them.
As fans, we are reduced to hoping that the odds will be our favor, 83% to keep our pick and 11% we get the #1 pick. While bad decisions got us in this mess we will need some luck to get out of it.
bryan S. says
Todd: Sure. Fine. But I’m still going to give Robert grief. (He loves it, really.)
Robert says
Todd: Thank you for the support and indeed we are kindred spirits. “not due to some natural cycle or harmonic convergence of bad luck. Simply put: the FO has made bad decisions – a lot of them. ” A group of words that would be hard to make more accurate.
bryan S: Indeed – you are correct – always appreciate the back and forth. I was called humorous by Craig and brilliant by you in just the last couple of days. Further, to have the anti-Jim movement named as my pet project is quite an honor. The last time I was given credit for such a task was when I was tagged by another Laker site as being significantly responsible for driving Mike D’Antoni out of town. I am confident in similar results on the current quest – it is just a question of when.
LKK says
Doc Rivers is still the same self serving phony that he was with the Celtics. He just has a bigger position and salary now. We saw his true colors in 2008 when his team mugged Kobe and the Lakers from pillar to post in the Finals. In 2010 he never gave the Lakers credit for a hard fought victory. According to him, the Lakers only won because the great Kendrick Perkins got injured.
Now, Doc the coach has been undermined by Doc the GM. It’s laughable. Under his watch, the Clips have become the league’s biggest floppers and whiners. Their lack of post season success is something Glenn has to own. The team is in his image.
@Chris J…really liked your Angels/Dodgers & Yankees/Mets comparisons to the current Lakers/Clips situation. Made a lot of sense.
Chris J says
In 2010 he never gave the Lakers credit for a hard fought victory. According to him, the Lakers only won because the great Kendrick Perkins got injured.
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Not to mention Rivers’ convenient oversight of the fact that the 2008 playoff Lakers missed Bynum entirely, and had Ariza coming back from a broken foot and nowhere close to 100 percent. Ariza didn’t have his wind back and could only give spot minutes.
Boston was the better team in 2008 and it probably would have won, regardless. But it’s always irked me that Celtics fans/Rivers never at all concede that the Lakers were not at 100 percent the year Boston won, but they still want everyone to believe the Celtics absolutely would have won in 2010 if Perkins had been around for Game 7 that year. Such hypocrites.
Bynum in 2007-08 was a terror, and even after his injuries his size and demeanor always frustrated KG. We’ll never know, but I so would have liked to have seen Bynum recover to a point that he could have played in those playoffs. The Lakers could well have had another Threepeat on their dossier.
tankyou says
Referring to Clarkson as Jeremy Lin with hops was not a rip by any means. I think Jeremy Lin is a good solid player. I think Lin is under-rated at this point and is a great 6th man or an OK starter with the X-factor ability to somtimes completely dominate a game via driving to the rim and scoring or dumping the ball off for easy 3’s/dunks. So my reference was meant to be a compliment, I don’t think Clarkson nor Lin will be all stars but they are good guys to have on the team. It’s always good to have a guard that can break down defenses as well as those two do and also have the ability to make their free throws. I just don’t think either will be the next Chris Paul.
I think Clarkson could be the PG of the future for this team, with the idea that we still need our 1st and 2nd option to be drafted/bought or maybe developed (Randle?). I think Jeremy Lin will go somewhere where he is better utilized and have an excellent season next year. When he gets to do PnR’s he is a really good player, it was fun watching him with Ed Davis–still baffles me how little they played together, but I guess that helped us guarantee losing.
I like Clarkson enough to suggest we shouldn’t bother drafting a PG and we should continue to look to fix our SF/Center positions–and find someone to develop at SG.
Warren Lim says
Congrats big time to Jordan Clarkson, the Philippines is most-proud of this achievement albeit a small one.
Darius has Pinoy blood in him too so cheers!
Vasheed says
@Warren
I tend to forget Clarkson is part Filipino. I’ve been to the Philippines many times as I’m married to a Pinay. =) Congrats to Clarkson, he has blown away any expectations I had for him since drafted.
Joe A says
Darius,
200 – 142 = 58 points better than Marcus Smart
Anon says
With all due respect, anyone who is fearful of the Clippers overtaking the Lakers has not been a Laker fan long enough to understand the dynamics of Laker fandom in the greater LA area. The problem with the Clippers is that they do not have a strong lifelong fan base. You may see more young adults wearing Clipper or Golden State gear now, but I assure you it’s the same group of fans who hate the Lakers and would be wearing anything non-Laker related anyway. Keep making your arguments. They are baseless. Compare attendance at Laker games season wide vs Clippers this years. Compare ratings. Compare merchandise sales. Frankly, anyone arguing that the FO should worry about staying more popular than the Clippers is focusing on the wrong things and projecting their own insecurities more than making a thoughtful argument. If you read this and feel insulted by this, you just proved my point.
George says
Where do you think Clarkson would go in this draft? Is he worth a top 10 pick? I ask only because Jordan will be 23 before the start of next year. If the FO thinks he has a lower ceiling then this off season would be the equivalent of selling high. Could he net the Lakers another Lottery section who is 18 or 19 and has a much higher ceiling?
Not knocking Clarkson, he was clearly the best player on the floor for the Lakers. But the realist in me says that the Lakers were truly awful last season so being the best of the worst should not make you untouchable. If Jim and Mitch are going to put together a team that will compete in the West for the long term, you have to assemble a team of great players not just good ones.
The argument for such a move would be Clarkson’s age and perceived ceiling plus the fact that he has only one more year on his deal. He will become market priced (expensive) next summer. Whereas a new rookie is cost controlled for much longer. The counter argument is that a bird in the hand….
grumpy says
George, I personally don’t know if a top 10 talent will be better than Clarkson. A lot of players drafted don’t pan out and Clarkson has already proven himself to be an NBA player. But I agree that Clarkson should not be untouchable if the right deal presents itself.
Big day for the Lakers today. May the ping pong balls fall our way.
Ko says
I find it utterly amazing that we wait here today after the worst season in Laker history “hoping” to keep the top 5 pick.
This is complete and total verification of the complete stupidly of Jim Buss and the non-management of this team.
If that pick goes to Philly Jim and Mitch should be fired on the spot. Oh that’s right there is no one to fire them because Jeanne will be holding hands with Phil in New York.
What a messed up franchise this has become. I think I will drive up to North Cal and join the Ommmm spa with Don Draper!
PurpleBlood says
Congrats Jordan Clarkson!
(& thanks to Warren and Vaheed for the interesting footnotes)
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Chris J,
you nailed it on your post!
Todd says
@ Anon: With all due respect, anyone who is fearful of the Clippers overtaking the Lakers… Keep making your arguments. They are baseless.
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@Ko: I find it utterly amazing that we wait here today after the worst season in Laker history “hoping” to keep the top 5 pick.
This is complete and total verification of the complete stupidly of Jim Buss and the non-management of this team.
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Anon, I never said that the Clippers would overtake the Lakers in popularity. My point was, as Ko so eloquently stated, the Jim Buss FO has placed the Lakers in a very precarious situation. If we miss out on this pick, it’s not inconceivable that the Lakers could be non-relevant for the balance of the decade. If that happens a portion of the non-diehard fan base may switch allegiance.
In other words, the sizeable monopoly the Lakers currently enjoy can erode quickly if the FO doesn’t start getting things right.
Kevin says
George: If the Lakers hit the jackpot and draft Towns then I’d think hard about flipping Clarkson for someone like Mudiay. My rationale is that Randle, Towns and (hypothetically) Mudiay would all be 19 or 20 and I think your core needs to be around the same age.
If the Lakers get shut out of this draft it depends on what the FO wants to do next season. If they want to tank one more year it may make sense to sell high on Jordan for a younger piece that will be able to time his upside with the team’s. However, if the FO is intent on hitting the free agent market hard then I keep Clarkson. His slightly older age would fit better with the established free agents the team would be pursuing.
Lot’s riding on tonight’s lottery selction.
Darius Soriano says
How exactly would the Lakers turn Clarkson into Mudiay? This is why I strongly dislike trade speculation. One second someone is posting about Clarkson’s trade value in comparison to this draft and the next someone else is saying should the Lakers land Towns, they should flip Clarkson for someone like Mudiay. Sigh.
Anon says
Todd- My comment was not necessarily directed at you, but since you replied… here go some additional thoughts.
The Lakers CANNOT make decisions based on how popular they wish to remain in the NBA or within the LA market. That is a recipe for disaster. They need to focus on building a contender, with the realities that we are rebuilding from scratch and with the ever looking Kobe Bryant retirement tour that will be next season. As far as how many years it would take for fans to abandon the Lakers, well, the truth is that one one knows for sure. However, there are some indications out there in the sports world that may prove useful. For example, look at Cub fans. When was the last time these guys went to the world series? HOw about the NCLS? How about the Raiders for a change? Or, look at the Knicks fan base. Compare them in the past 15 years to the Nets and tell me which team has a “cooler” owner and produced better basketball yet tell me why the Knicks continue to be on top?
Now, where I agree with your comment is with respect to the Laker fan base outside of the USA, to the extent such fanbase does not have the history and life-long commitment we have here in LA with the Lakers. For example, a kid under 15 in the Philippines today may be a huge Lebron, Curry and Griffin fan. Assuming said kid’s Dad was not a huge Magic, Shaq or Kobe fan or an NBA fan for that matter, then you are absolutely right that this particular kids “allegiance” is at play today. However, in the context of what the Lakers need to do to get back on top, I frankly do not care about what our hypothetical Filipino boy today thinks of the Lakers and I’m hoping the FO feels the same way.