The Jordan Clarkson Puzzle: To Trade or Not

Despite being one of the leaders, JC's name has been making noise in the trade talks.

After beating the Houston Rockets which ended the Rockets' winning streak, the Los Angeles Lakers are back to their old habit of losing tons of games as they are riding on a 4-game losing streak which started against the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day. They have dropped 7 of their last 10 games which put them in 13th place in the Western Conference with an 11-22 record.

While there's no denying the fact that it has been a disappointing season for the Purple and Gold despite having Lonzo Ball AND Kyle Kuzma leading them, we just have to admit the fact that there have been notable bright spots for the Lakers despite their struggles. Aside from the emergence of Kyle Kuzma as the new star of the team, Jordan Clarkson's continuous improvement has been noted by pundits and believe that Jordan Clarkson has been an important piece who keepse3 the Lakers winning in some of their games. In 33 games that he played this season so far, starting in two games, Jordan Clarkson has been averaging 14 points per game- the third-leading scorer of the Lakers, while playing for 22 minutes. 

However,  Jordan Clarkson's name has been included in numerous trade rumors over the past few weeks. Here's the thing, folks. As of now, there's no assurance that either Paul George or LeBron James will make the big jump to Hollywood so letting go of a good player such as Clarkson will make no sense as of the moment. And even pundits in the United States are believing that the Lakers won't pull the trigger and trade a potential star in Clarkson anytime soon. Why? Just imagine if Jordan Clarkson isn't around. The Lakers would have been in a much worse state than where they are right now. 

Another thing: the Lakers don't have their pick so trading Clarkson definitely won't make sense. 

Conclusion

Unless PG13 or the King goes on to sign with the Lakers come July 2018, the Lakers will need Jordan Clarkson around because even if he is only averaging 14 points a game, replacing someone who can score that much will be a headache because of the fact that Lonzo Ball is still struggling offensively.