The Knicks are at the top of Jordan Clarkson's list when he becomes an unrestricted free agent and intends to sign with New York, SNY's Ian Begley reported on Monday, citing league sources.
Clarkson, who was bought out of the remaining year on his contract with the Utah Jazz earlier on Monday, will become a free agent once he clears waivers. New York has the $5 million taxpayer exception and veteran's minimum exceptions available to offer Clarkson, Begley noted.
A prolific scorer off the bench, the 33-year-old would help the Knicks, who had the lowest bench scoring in the NBA last year at 21.7 points per game.
The Knicks see the veteran guard as a priority signing and have "set their sights" on him, according to Newsday's Steve Popper.
The guard spent the last five full seasons with the Jazz, playing just 37 games (nine starts) last year due to a foot injury and underwent a season-ending procedure to address plantar fasciitis in his left foot in late March. He averaged 16.2 points on 40.8 percent shooting (36.2 percent from three) with 3.7 assists, 3.2 rebounds per game in 26 minutes.
He had a stellar 2020-21 campaign that saw him take home Sixth Man of the Year honors when he averaged 18.4 points on 42.5 percent shooting (15.8 field goal attempts per game) and 34.7 percent from three with 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 26.7 minutes per game. He averaged 20.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in 61 games (all starts) during the 2022-23 campaign.
Clarkson has averaged 16 points on 43.6 percent shooting with 3.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 27.7 minutes over his 753 career regular-season games (231 starts). He has appeared in 43 playoff games during his career (all off the bench), most recently in 2022. He's averaged 11.7 points on 41.3 percent from the floor with 2.5 rebounds to 1.2 assists in 22.2 minutes.
Entering his 12th NBA season, Clarkson has played for the Los Angeles Lakers, who acquired him in draft day trade after he was the 46th overall pick in 2014, the Cleveland Cavaliers, who acquired him in around the 2018 trade deadline in a deal that involved four players and a first-round pick, and Jazz, who acquired him in December 2019.
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