Report: Jordan Clarkson's Contract 'Very Movable' for Jazz

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Utah Jazz guards Jordan Clarkson and Talen Horton-Tucker decided to stay in Salt Lake City, rather than test the free agency market.

Also, Utah opted to pick up the $12.195 million on the last year of Kelly Olynyk’s contract.

What does it mean moving forward?

The topic came up when Jeremiah Jensen of KSL Sports joined ESPN 700’s The Bill Riley Show.

“That’s the nice thing about this current situation— with Jordan [Clarkson] opting-in,” Jensen told Riley. “If Jordan wants to be here or go somewhere else or whatever it might be, or if the Jazz want to move in that direction his contract is very movable. It’s a great contract. Talen Horton-Tucker opting in — $11 million. That’s a very tradeable contract with a young player that has a lot of potential. So you start looking at the contracts on this roster. Collin Sexton to be honest — even that contract is a very nice contract for a young player. So if they’re in a situation where they have to move any of these guys or they choose to move them, I think they’ll have that ability.”

It appears the roster changes, or lack thereof, are creating a lot of questions as we approach the 2023-24 season. That said, the Jazz couldn’t ask for a better scenario when Clarkson and Horton-Tucker opted in.

Because Horton-Tucker's contract is expiring, the Jazz can now take a free roll of the dice to see if the fifth-year veteran has made enough progress to be the point guard of the future, or trade him to a franchise looking to clear cap space in 2024-25.

Horton-Tucker isn’t the only player that may be switching uniforms this year. Due to an overabundance of depth at the guard position, Clarkson or Collin Sexton are players that could be on the move, too.

Where it stands now, Utah has six guards that will be battling for minutes at the one and two spots.

Clarkson
Sexton
Keyonte George
Horton-Tucker
Kris Dunn
Ochai Agbaji

Jazz fans can definitely expect more roster reshuffles before it’s all said and done. How fast it happens could depend on the development of George.

If the Jazz brain trust feels the No. 16 overall pick is NBA-ready, then moving a veteran who is blocking minutes makes sense. But there’s still the question of what George’s role will be.

Is he a score-first shooting guard, or can he be developed into a facilitator that can be Utah’s point guard of the future?

There’s also the Olynyk situation. The John Collins trade with the Atlanta Hawks could mean Olynyk’s time in Salt Lake City may be short-lived. There’s always a market for a player with an expiring contract that can still produce on the court.

Expect the 10-year veteran to be involved in some type of exchange at some point during the upcoming season. Jazz fans got a lot of answers this last week, but with closure comes more questions.

Expect the rumor mill to be centered around the Jazz all year long.

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