Jazz Rookie's Emergence Could Foreshadow Jordan Clarkson's Future

When the Utah Jazz unloaded four rotational players at the trade deadline it cleared a path for the team's youth movement to see a spike in playing time. Arguably, no one has grabbed the bull by the horns like rookie Ochai Agbaji, but it’s taken a minute to get here.

Obaji spent some time in the G-League where he averaged 13.1 ppg over nine contests. Receiving playing time with the Jazz was a tall task, with proven veterans Jordan Clarkson and Malik Beasley locked in as the starter and backup shooting guards, but the deadline deal on February 9 blew the doors wide open on the opportunity front, and Agbaji hasn’t looked back since.

In the last four contests, Abaji is averaging 13.5 ppg on 47.6% shooting. It’s a small sample size, but he is beginning to show the Jazz brain trust he’s much more than a floor-spreader who can hit corner threes.

Finishing at the rim, three-pointers off the bounce, and guarding the opponent's best player — it's all been on display since Agbaji was inserted in the starting lineup on February 10. He may have had his best performance of the year scoring 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting while defending the Boston Celtics' No. 1 option Jayson Tatum in Utah’s win on Saturday night.

The former Big 12 Player of the Year dished his thoughts on the task of playing against Boston's All-Star.

“Just throwing different looks at him," Abaji said. “Obviously, he’s a good player, [he] sees a lot of different looks every single night, but just making it more difficult on him. Talking to each other and helping each other out, like I said.”

Agbaji's 6-foot-10 wingspan and 8-foot-8-inch standing reach, along with elite athleticism, is why Jazz executive Danny Ainge insisted he be a part of the blockbuster Donovan Mitchell trade. Ainge built the current Celtics team around long, athletic guards with the tangibles that Agbaji possesses.

Although, the emergence of Utah’s young prospect doesn’t come without a cost, which begs the question: What will the Jazz now do with Clarkson?

There have been reports that Jazz owner Ryan Smith wants to re-sign the former Sixth Man of the Year for 2023-24 and beyond, but does that make sense? If past behavior is the best predictor of the future then it should be safe to assume that Ainge would prefer Agbaji as the starter over Clarkson.

With Agbaji's game developing at such a rapid rate, it’s going to be difficult to dish out big bucks to a non-starter hitting the back nine of his playing career. It’s been rumored that Clarkson is seeking a deal worth $20 million per year.

Also, would Clarkson consider returning if he was asked to revert back to his sixth-man role? There are some moving parts when considering Clarkson’s future, but from this point of view, the Jazz have too much young talent at the guard position to bring back Utah’s most-tenured player for 2023-24

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