Knicks' Busy Week Ups the Pressure on Reinvented Jordan Clarkson

Do you know who the Knicks' leading offensive rebounder per 36 minutes was in last year’s playoffs? The two leaders both moved on to regional rivals: Mitchell Robinson to Boston, Ariel Hukporti to Philadelphia.

Next on the list isn’t Karl-Anthony Towns, nor Josh Hart. It’s Jordan Clarkson, whose role last season seemed as unlikely as him returning for an encore. And yet, both happened.

Clarkson’s fit seemed a strange one at first. Traditionally a gunner off the bench, he averaged better than 13 shots per game over his career before coming to New York, a number he exceeded only once all season. Clarkson played the second-fewest minutes of his career and failed to average double-digit points for the first time ever. If you’d told a Knicks fan that 12 months ago, they’d have thought: “Bust.”

Not even close.

A very different version of Clarkson

After playing the Knicks’ first 44 games, Clarkson fell out of the rotation, a DNP-CD 10 times in a little over a month. As an accomplished and respected veteran, he could’ve demanded more minutes. Might have asked for his release, to go find a team willing to take him as is, for what he’s always been.

Instead, Clarkson buckled down and completely reinvented himself, shifting his energies away from scoring and toward the offensive glass and full-court defensive duty, a sort of hybrid Josh Hart/Miles McBride. He played four of the five NBA Finals games, finishing with a positive plus/minus rating in each.

On a team that finished third in offensive rating, Clarkson’s scoring was superfluous. On a team whose rating got quite a bump from second-chance points, his offensive rebounding and defensive pressing were invaluable. Between Clarkson and Jose Alvarado, the Knicks added two guards willing, if not eager, to defend for 94 feet, even when they aren’t getting a ton of shots. As New York learned to its chagrin in previous playoffs versus TJ McConnell, a bench guard willing to let it all hang out in his short stints can have an oversized impact by series end.

The roster math is complicated

But with all Clarkson brings to the table, the number that may ultimately decide his fate is his salary. At the veteran’s minimum, he makes less than McBride. As the team’s sixth or seventh guard on the depth chart, he’s lower in importance than Landry Shamet or any prospective third big man the Knicks would add.

Clarkson even waived his no-trade protection to re-sign in New York; come December 15th, he can be moved elsewhere. Given the training camp signings of Bruce Brown and Ochai Agbaji—both younger guards—as well as other hopefuls, what's the likelihood Clarkson finishes the year with the defending champs? What if Mo Diawara takes another leap in his development? Or Tyler Kolek?

It’s a fascinating preseason subplot. Mike Brown’s team has plenty of scorers and talent ahead of Clarkson or his successor. The Knicks don’t need a microwave scorer off the bench so much as an air fryer, someone that can do a little of everything. That’s not Clarkson’s m.o., but the fact that at 34 he reinvented himself to fit in as a cog in a title-winning machine is likely ingrained in the coaching staff’s memories. Clarkson may not be the last man standing, but he’ll get as good and long a first look as anyone. Deservedly.

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