The Golden State Warriors have one roster spot open for their training camp invitees as they have 14 players who are locks to make the roster. The Warriors have said they want that final roster spot to be taken by a shooter so when they signed Ben Gordon a few weeks ago it seemed like he would get the spot. Gordon has since been cut and it seems as though Ian Clark is currently the leader for that final roster spot, according to Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Clark was an undrafted free agent out of Belmont University in 2013 but he was able to make the Utah Jazz roster that season and has stuck in the NBA/D-League ever since. Clark has played with Utah, the Denver Nuggets and has also played 15 D-League games so far. The 24 year old has played in 54 NBA games in his career but only 5.4 minutes per game and really hasn't had a chance to make an impact. So far this preseason he has really been impressive especially to interim head coach Luke Walton.
"He's been great for us. He was great all through training camp, too. He can score the ball, which is what we like. He has a nice floater game when he gets in with the bigs, and he can obviously shoot from outside. He competes on defense, which is another thing we look at. It's too early to say, regarding his status, but he's done everything he can do as far as impressing us and the front office. He's put himself in a good position," said Walton.
Clark seems to be the favorite for the 15th spot over Chris Babb, Jarrell Eddie and Juwan Staten with the season getting closer. Clark was named Co-Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year at Belmont as a senior as he averaged 18.2 points per game while making 46 percent of his threes. The 6 foot-3 guard's best asset is his shooting ability but the Warriors have been impressed with him in other areas as well which will only help his case.
Clark seems likely to make the Warriors final roster at this point but earning playing time will be almost impossible. The defending champions are extremely deep especially on the wings so don't expect Clark to get much time unless they have a lot of injuries but this will be a nice step forward for the sharpshooter.
