Lakers Rumors: Trading Jordan Clarkson would have massive consequences

If the Lakers rumors are true about getting close to dealing Jordan Clarkson, it’ll be something LA will regret for a long time.

Over the last several seasons, the Los Angeles Lakers have made it a thing to where they make a seriously questionable decision or two and then try to play it off like the greatest thing ever. Trading D’Angelo Russell too early, signing Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov, and now this year the buzz is around where Jordan Clarkson will end up.

The second unit point guard for Los Angeles has played exceptionally well so far this season. And with that being said, it’s particularly surprising to hear that his name hasn’t dropped out of the trade rumors yet in addition to not seeming to have a landing spot in the moment.

Rumor has it that the potential trade for Clarkson would come with the goal to alleviate some cap space so that bigger name free agents are a more realistic pursuit. However, the closer the Lakers get to the looming summer, the less it seems — in my opinion — that they’re really going to need  superstar from off the market.

If anything, you’d hope they’d really pursue a quality center above all else, but we all know that Magic Johnson is going to go for guys like Paul George and LeBron James even if all comments point towards that not coming to fruition for the franchise.

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This Jordan Clarkson debacle is also puzzling for the simple fact that the Lakers don’t really have a solid option to backup Lonzo Ball. So what happens when Ball has another huge slump in his rookie season during a critical stretch of the year for his team?

I guess we’re just supposed to act like it’s all going to be okay, right?

When, should, or if a deal gets done, the real winner will be Clarkson. Like Russell before him, he’ll get the green light away from an organization that doesn’t know how to appreciate his talents while deliberately settling for less.

The sad part is that we’ve not only seen this with how the front office treats talks about Clarkson, but also how long it took — and the circumstances surrounding therein — for Kyle Kuzma to actually get a starting nod.

If Jordan Clarkson gets traded, that’s going to send a dangerous message to guys like Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram moving forward. They are no longer necessarily the cornerstones of the franchise, and if the guys up top think that trading them can possibly land LeBron James or Paul George, they might be next.

Next: There's No More Debating Kyle Kuzma

And that’s never a good thing for a team as young as they are.