The Knicks are making moves to strengthen their bench, with Jordan Clarkson expected to join the team after finalizing his buyout with the Utah Jazz.
New York desperately needs depth to compete in the Eastern Conference next season. Their bench was the least productive in the entire NBA last year, scoring fewer points and playing fewer minutes than any other team’s reserves.
That wasn’t an accident. Former head coach Tom Thibodeau deliberately kept his rotation tight.
But things need to change if the Knicks want to be serious contenders.
ESPN’s Shams Charania broke the news that Clarkson is headed to New York after clearing waivers.
Clarkson brings exactly what the Knicks need – reliable scoring punch off the bench. The 33-year-old guard has built his career as one of the league’s premier sixth men.
His journey to New York has been a winding one. Originally drafted in the second round by Washington in 2014, he was immediately traded to the Lakers on draft night.
After four and a half seasons in Los Angeles, Clarkson was shipped to Cleveland, where he spent another three and a half years before landing in Utah.
It’s with the Jazz where Clarkson truly found his groove.
He’s played 342 games for Utah over the past five seasons, starting just 93 of them. His role as the team’s spark plug off the bench earned him the Sixth Man of the Year award in 2020-21, when he averaged 16 points per game while appearing in 79 contests.
During his entire Jazz tenure, Clarkson put up an impressive 17.5 points per game.
The Jazz paid tribute to their departing guard on social media, calling him an “All-Time Fan Favorite” and thanking him for “countless memories, buckets and ‘yeah, a lot’ of Jazz games.”
Clarkson’s arrival couldn’t come at a better time for New York. Last season, Jalen Brunson was absolutely run into the ground, handling the ball for a league-high 8.6 minutes per game.
Brunson’s 35.4 minutes per game ranked in the top 15 in the NBA. In fact, three of the Knicks’ five starters were among the league’s top five in minutes played.
That’s simply not sustainable.
With Clarkson on board, Brunson can finally get some much-needed rest during games. And this might just be the first of several moves as the Knicks look to build a deeper rotation.
For a team hoping to make serious noise in the East next season, adding a proven scorer like Clarkson is a really solid first step.
