Former Sixth Man of the Year Jordan Clarkson will be witnessing a change in scenery next season, as he leaves the Utah Jazz to join the New York Knicks. Clarkson mentioned that his agent, Rich Paul, asked him where he wanted to go. New York was always the answer.
The guard recently chronicled his move to the Knicks, highlighting that the decision happened while attending a Carlos Alcaraz match at Wimbledon, per the New York Post’s Stefan Bondy. When sharing why he opted to join the Knicks during a live edition of the “Roommate Show” podcast with Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, Clarkson said:
“The arena [MSG], honestly. Feeling the energy from the fans. Knowing they’re going to let you have it if you’re playing like s**t. But when you’re playing great, it’s all love. At the end of the day, I just want to feel the energy. Get to play with y’all [Brunson and Hart].”
Earlier, Clarkson had mentioned that his signing with the Knicks was finalized over a brief phone call. With this degree of certainty, it is clear that the 33-year-old only had eyes on New York.
In this regard, his new teammates also seemed keen on having him join the team. Hart mentioned, “The Garden’s going to be great vibes. It’s going to be different from Utah…We got more flavor to our crowd, brother, don’t worry about it.”
Having a player like Clarkson join the team is a massive boost to New York’s overall roster strength. Given the team’s performance in the postseason, the Knicks are primed to make a run at the championship. To this, Clarkson only hopes to raise the team’s production.
“Y’all have been doing great things over here,” said the veteran guard. “I just want to come in here and enhance what y’all got going on.”
The New York Knicks have made some solid additions to their roster over the offseason. Along with Clarkson, the Knicks also managed to sign French forward Guerschon Yabusele to a team-friendly deal.
When considering that the Knicks managed to sign the former 6MOY on a veteran’s minimum deal, primarily since he was bought out by the Jazz, New York gained a lot of financial flexibility.
The 33-year-old guard brings solid upside to the table. While he isn’t the scoring force he was in his prime, Clarkson remains a capable offensive threat. With the Jazz last season, he appeared in 37 games and averaged 16.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists, while shooting 40.8% overall and 36.2% from beyond the arc.
Given New York’s investment in their starting lineup, acquiring a piece like Clarkson gives them solid and necessary depth off the bench. With the key task of maintaining offensive rhythm in the second unit, the 33-year-old could see a lot of meaningful minutes next season.
