JULY 7: Clarkson’s renegotiated and extended contract is now official, per the Jazz.
JULY 2: After picking up his 2023/24 option last week to remain in Utah, Jordan Clarkson will commit to the team for a couple more seasons, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Clarkson and the Jazz are finalizing a renegotiation and extension that will give him a raise in 2023/24 and will add two new years to his current contract, his agents at Klutch Sports tell Charania.
The deal will be worth $55MM, Charania adds. Based on the wording of his report, it’s unclear if that $55MM is all new money or if it includes Clarkson’s preexisting $14.3MM salary for 2023/24 — I’d assume the latter unless we hear otherwise, since agents leaking word of an agreement typically frame it in the most flattering light.
As we outlined on Saturday when Domantas Sabonis completed a similar deal with the Kings, contract renegotiations in the NBA are rare, since they can only be completed when a team has cap space and intends to increase a player’s salary rather than reducing it. Like Sacramento with Sabonis, Utah has the cap room necessary to give Clarkson’s current-year salary a bump and negotiate an extension off that new cap hit.
Interestingly, without a renegotiation, the maximum two-year extension Utah could give Clarkson would be worth about $41.5MM — when added to his current $14.3MM salary, that would also work out to just over $55MM.
By forgoing a traditional ascending extension structure and renegotiating his current-year salary to give him an immediate raise, the Jazz may end up paying the veteran guard the same amount of money overall while applying more of it to the 2023/24 cap in order to maximize future flexibility. An extension signed signed as part of a renegotiation can decline by as much as 40% in the first season.
Clarkson, 31, entered Utah’s starting lineup in 2022/23 after coming off the bench as a microwave scorer for most of his nine-year NBA career. In 61 games (32.6 MPG) in 2022/23, he averaged 20.8 points, 4.4 assists, and 4.0 rebounds with a shooting line of .444/.338/.816.
The Jazz, who are acquiring John Collins into their cap room in a trade with Atlanta, still projected to have nearly $15MM in cap room available after completing that deal, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). Whether or not they have more room to operate after the Clarkson renegotiation will depend on how much money they add to his 2023/24 salary, as well as the team’s plans for players on non-guaranteed contracts like Luka Samanic and Vernon Carey.
Clarkson is the third player to agree to renegotiate his contract in 2023, joining Sabonis and Pacers center Myles Turner. Prior to Turner, no player had renegotiated a deal since Robert Covington in 2017.
Wow, Edward Scissorhands staying in Utah. Good for them.
If they have cap space, then it would make sense to frontload the deal, unless the space is ticketed for another use.
Clarkson is a big fan favorite in Utah. He also has a huge following in the Philippines. Ever since he joined the Jazz there’s been a bunch more Jazz related videos in Filipino. Plus, you’ll see a bunch of positive comments about him being the best player, etc.
Me, personally, I really like Clarkson. He’s been very clutch in the 4th quarter for the Jazz, particularly this past year. If the Jazz want to win games then this is a smart move. He’s also very chill and funny.
The only knock on him is he can, at times, try to force plays that aren’t there. This causes turnovers. He needs to continue to increase his passing-to-scoring ratio. THT and Sexton have this same issue.
Overall, I think his contract vs his production is a great value. If, for some reason, the Jazz and Clarkson decide to part ways, his contract is very moveable. They’d just have to wait 6 months after he signs it. That’s about the right amount of time to see how the Jazz are doing.
The only other thing to consider is if the Jazz instead want to use Clarkson as part of a trade now. He’d have to agree to a sign-and-trade to the team they’re sending him to. I don’t get that vibe, at this point.
However, Lillard to the Jazz is a real possibility. He’s said on several occasions that he wouldn’t mind playing for the Jazz, Will Hardy, playing at home, etc. He lived and went to school in Ogden, Utah.
Lillard is the only scenario I could see, right now, that could change the Jazz’s plans for Clarkson. If he signs the extension, and no trade then look again at the trade deadline. If nothing, then I could see Clarkson playing out his contract in Utah.
I like either scenario, but I would enjoy watching him play for the Jazz and being a cool icon for the fans, and my nephew. He’s friends with him and his friends. =)
Nice post. Thoughts well conveyed.
Thank you, good sir.
The jazz can trade Clarkson at anytime. He qualifies for an extension and if under three years then he can do it now or later and still be traded. What we don’t know is if it is 3 years or two. What we read is it is front loaded with two years added.
Also believe Clarkson doesn’t care if he plays here or somewhere else. He is getting paid either way and likes to play.
If jazz go for Dame it won’t be an all in and they won’t be trading Clarkson.
Comes down to picks and young players plus cap space. Jazz won’t have cap space to give if they front load so they might want to wait.
The new CBA prohibits players from being traded for six months after they do a renegotiation, so Clarkson won’t be trade-eligible right away.