The New York Knicks were starving for depth during the 2025 offseason. Their search to fill out the bench for new head coach Mike Brown led the Knicks to handing Jordan Clarkson a one-year deal following his contract buyout from the Utah Jazz. The addition has been mediocre.
In all fairness to New York, there was a level of desperation to their need of upgrading the second unit. The Knicks ranked dead last in the NBA during 2024-25 when it came to bench scoring. They averaged a woeful 21.7 points per game, significantly worst than the 29th-placed Los Angeles Lakers, who cleared them comfortably with 26.2.
Clarkson made a ton of sense to solve the issue. The veteran scorer has always been known for delivering buckets in bunches off the bench for the teams who have employed him. Clarkson even won Sixth Man of the Year in 2020-21 with the Jazz for the spark he provided the second unit.
However, there has long been a debate in the NBA about how much value players of his archetype really bring to a team. The Cleveland Cavaliers certainly had no reservations about moving on in 2019, sending Clarkson to Utah. The Knicks are quickly finding out why that was the case.
Cavaliers knew Jordan Clarkson was not a difference-maker ages ago
Make no mistake about it, Clarkson has not stuck around in the NBA for no reason. The former second round pick immediately found a role for the Lakers in 2014-15, and has made a long, 12-year career out of being good at putting the ball in the basket.
Clarkson really does not thrive on a basketball court in many other meaningful ways. That will always limit his upside.
Looking at Clarkson's win shares per 48 minutes throughout his career tells a very clear story of who he's been as a pro. The veteran bucket-getter has posted a mark of .055 during his playing days. Even in his best season, when Clarkson won Sixth Man of the Year, that category peaked at .111.
That metric with the Knicks in 2025-26 has been on par with his career mark, only a toucher higher at .556. Meanwhile, other advanced statistics paint a troubling tale.
Clarkson has been a huge negative in box plus/minus, posting -2.8. The Knicks guard has been particularly bad on defense, where a -2.7 defensive box plus/minus has contributed to the majority of that overall rating.
The deepest a team with Clarkson has ever gone in the postseason was back in 2018, on the infamous LeBron James run through the Eastern Conference that starred the Cavaliers superstar as a Thanos-like figure. The former Cavs guard was largely forgettable then.
The Knicks do not need much out of Clarkson this season. However, if they start to rely on him more than the minimum, their contending dreams will quickly vanish.