Cleveland Cavaliers guard Jordan Clarkson is a confusing player to assess.
At one moment, he seemed like a promising contributor for a title contender. At the next, he was unplayable. What do the Cleveland Cavaliers do with him next season?
Beginner’s Luck?
When he first arrived from Los Angeles, Clarkson made an immediate impact. Debuting against the Celtics in February, he went 7-for-11 and 3-for-4 from deep for 17 points. He averaged 12.6 points, 1.7 assists, and 2.1 rebounds in his 28 games with the club.
While it was no secret the Lakers were actively shopping Clarkson to unload the next two years/$26 million of his contract to open cap space for a star, many fans rejoiced at his acquisition. The team finally found a playmaker that could create his own shot.
Playoff Clarkson:
Clarkson looked more like a player on the trade block in the playoffs. Actually, worse than that. He reached historically bad depths. On top of scoring roughly five points per game on 30% shooting, he had a 3.5 player efficiency rating.
According to Basketball-Reference, this number ranks third worst in NBA Playoffs history
Jordan Clarkson's PER in the playoffs is 3.5, which would be the third worst playoff run in NBA history by a player who played 250+ minutes https://t.co/e4SWQMp7MT https://t.co/vdfQWDQ0T7
— Basketball Reference (@bball_ref) June 4, 2018
Reddit wondered: “[Serious] Is Jordan Clarkson Having the Worst Playoff Run in NBA History?”
Since February, the joy over Clarkson’s arrival has long dissipated. Now, he looks to Cleveland the way he looked to L.A., an overpaid/underperforming player.