Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson decided before free agency to execute a $14.2 million contract for the 2023-2024 season and continue working with the Jazz for another year or more.
The veteran has reportedly exercised the $14.2 million player option on his current contract, allowing Clarkson to play with the Utah Jazz until 2023-24, perhaps longer. Jordan Clarkson didn't enter NBA free agency after all.
"I have been told that Jordan Clarkson will exercise his player option to stay with the Utah Jazz for the 2023-24 season, according to the league. That leaves the opportunity for the Jazz to extend his contract," Sarah Todd of The Deserit News reported Thursday.
Clarkson has a good position with the Jazz, averaging a career-high 20.8 points and 4.4 assists per game last season, while serving as the Jazz's No. 2 scoring point, sharing some of the pressure from Lauri Markkanen. Also loved by Jazz fans and owner Ryan Smith, Clarkson, 30, quickly signed a multi-year contract extension that keeps him in Utah for the foreseeable future, not surprisingly that the annual salary is slightly higher than his last contract as the salary cap continues to rise.
Revealed that the Rockets no longer consider Harden, there are better options: such as Chris Middleton/Khris Middleton,
A three-time All-Star winner, Middleton has a championship and has extensive playoff experience, averaging 17.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals in his career, shooting 45.7 percent from the field and 38.8 percent from the range, while having a solid defensive rating of 109 points. He can help the game do better, he's the one who changes the game and works miracles, and if the Rockets aim to hit the playoffs spot as soon as possible in 2023-24, then Middleton is the best person to trade.
Target No. 2: Fred VanVleet
Heading into the offseason, the free agent with the most contact with the Rockets is probably All-Star point guard Fred VanVleet, and the rumors of VanVliet's trip to Houston are even more true, with Mark Stein reporting on June 28 that the team is in fact very interested in the 29-year-old.
"I wrote at length Monday night about Houston's interest in signing Fred VanVleet from Toronto," Stein said, shooting just 39.3 percent from the field and 34.2 percent from three-point range last season and a two-year max contract projected at $83.6 million.