Jordan Clarkson is one of the best available players on the trade market, as his incumbent Utah Jazz team has traded away most of the competing core from previous years in Royce O’Neal, Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, and Bojan Bogdanovic.
Clarkson has been linked with teams like the Lakers but a new suitor may have emerged for the former Sixth Man of the Year. The Milwaukee Bucks are looking to add him to their roster to further solidify their run to the 2023 NBA Finals.
The Milwaukee Bucks have shown ‘a lot’ of interest in Jordan Clarkson, per @Tjonesonthenba
“But the Jazz would have had to take back George Hill in a potential trade, and they weren’t going to do that. That was kind of a non-starter for them.”
(Via The Bill Riley Show) pic.twitter.com/zZSYEm0KF4
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 29, 2022
The trade hasn’t gone through as of yet as the Bucks are unwilling to give up backup point guard George Hill to facilitate the deal. The Bucks have to match salaries with Clarkson, which won’t be easy considering the $13 million that Clarkson is making for this season. The closest equitable contract the Bucks have is Brook Lopez but is way too valuable to the team for them to trade him for JC.
How The Bucks Can Acquire Jordan Clarkson
Not including any pick compensation that the Jazz may need, the Bucks have very few avenues of making this work. The trade piece that will definitely have to go is Grayson Allen, as the Bucks will need his $8 million to make the salaries easier to match.
That amount is why George Hill’s inclusion seems almost mandatory for the Bucks to try to arrange the assets they need to acquire Clarkson. Another option to throw in a trade with Allen is Pat Connaughton, but the Bucks need either Allen or Connaughton to stay on the team and either start in a defensive-minded role or come off the bench for Clarkson.
The best-case scenario is that the Bucks trade Hill and Allen to get Clarkson and then sign a veteran guard out of free agency. This is much easier said than done, as the loss of Hill could be a massive detriment to the team and their roster. However, getting a scorer like Clarkson on the roster would boost the Bucks’ offense considerably.
