Cleveland Cavaliers guard Jordan Clarkson is one year away from becoming a free agent, but that isn’t stopping him from looking at this year’s available talent.
On Saturday, he used social media to offer his projections on the destinations of three key players from this year’s free agency class.
https://twitter.com/jordanclarksons/status/1140044694338121729
Offering clarity to Clarkson’s shorthand, his first prediction is that Brooklyn Nets restricted free agent guard D’Angelo Russell will head to the Phoenix Suns. That’s followed by Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving and New Orleans Pelicans center Julius Randle both heading to Brooklyn in free agency.
Russell recently completed his fourth season in the league, his second with the Nets after spending his first two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers. He averaged 21.1 points, 7.0 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game and has a $9.16 million qualifying offer on the table, which he’ll undoubtedly reject.
In the case of Irving, his 2017 trade from the Cavaliers to the Celtics was a blockbuster that was supposed to appease Irving’s interest in being the leader of his own team. Two years later, controversy is swirling around Irving, who went back on his pledge last year to re-sign with the Celtics.
Randle left the Lakers last year to sign a two-year contract with the Pelicans worth $17.71 million, the second year being a player option at just over $9 million. During the 2018-19 regular season, Randle averaged 21.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists.
When it comes to Clarkson’s own status, he’s set to make $13.4 million for the 2019-20 season. Coming off his best season, when he averaged 16.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, the 27-year-old shooting guard will be looking for a big contract after next season.
Previous reports have indicated that the rebuilding Cavaliers could trade Clarkson if they’re unable to come to an agreement on a new contract with him prior to next February’s trade deadline. Whether that comes to pass remains to be seen, but it’s obvious that his price tag will go up if he’s able to build on his impressive 2018-19 campaign.
