Jordan Clarkson was a second round pick by the Washington Wizards in 2014 before being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for cash. Clarkson was a nice surprise for the Lakers a year ago as the lone bright spot in an otherwise horrific season. Clarkson made the NBA All-Rookie firs team and is expected to play a major role for the Lakers as they hope to be more competitive this season. Clarkson has reportedly been mulling over whether to play for the Philippines in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championships but has yet to come to a decision, according to NBA.com.
Clarkson's mother is half-Filipino, which gives him the ability to play for them in the tournament, but the problem is when the games are. The early round games start on Sept. 23, which would be fine for Clarkson, but he wouldn't be available for the knockout rounds that start on Oct. 1 because Lakers training camp will have begun.
All NBA players under contract are required to attend training camp, so Clarkson would not have the ability to play the entire tournament for the Philippines. NBA rules also state that teams can't prevent players from playing in international competition unless there is an injury so Clarkson could very well decide to play just the beginning of the tournament. Odds are Clarkson will likely decide against playing in the FIBA Asia Championships, but that isn't a certainty.
Clarkson's exact role for next season is not exactly clear cut, but one thing is for sure and that is that his role will be pretty big. It is possible Clarkson could start alongside D'Angelo Russell with Kobe Bryant at the three, but it is also possible that Clarkson could be used as the backup point guard behind Russell. Either way, it is likely Clarkson and Russell will be on the floor at the same a lot throughout the season and that they will both get big minutes.
Clarkson really broke out after the All-Star break last year when he averaged 16.7 points, 5.4 assists, and 4.6 rebounds while shooting 48 percent from the field. The 23-year-old has gone from an unknown to a very important piece to the Lakers future very quickly.
