Exactly. . In all seriousness, I think @trodgers statistical projection is more than fair; on a personal level, I'm expecting his defense to get better; he has the ability to guard the 1 and the 2 position, he's athletic, long, and could really be an above average defender on that end; we need him too, quite frankly.
REAL nice read on Jordan. Superb work ethic and endurance. He also flew to NY prior to Summer League to work out with Nash. You know what else? He has raised the release point on his jumper. Read near the end. Vaguely I kind of thought it was looking a little better / higher. Knows he will be more often playing 2 guard now. I am really pumped after this article. He has that "inner drive". Lakers' Jordan Clarkson looks to build on impressive rookie debut By James Herbert | NBA writer July 26, 2015 2:00 pm ET LAS VEGAS -- Jordan Clarkson thinks about the number 46 a lot. The Los Angeles Lakersguard will never forget slipping into the second half of the second round in the 2014 NBA Draft. In the last 13 months he's already made most of the league regret passing on him, earned first-team All-Rookie honors and become a major part of the Lakers' future. Asked what he remembers about the night he became a pro, he spoke succinctly. “Sitting there and waiting forever to get my name called,” Clarkson said. “That was it.” Most second-round picks would tell you they use that memory as motivation. Few of them mean it like Clarkson, who re-watched the draft around 10 times over the course of his rookie season. Los Angeles went just 21-61 last year, but Clarkson was the bright spot. After the All-Star break, he averaged 16.7 points, 5.4 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game, shooting 48 percent from the field. This month at Summer League, he almost always looked like the best player on the floor. Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak told SiriusXM that he sees Clarkson and No. 2 pick D'Angelo Russell, whose presence is the season's only other silver lining, being backcourt partners for the next 10-12 years. “Anytime you get a player at that number, 46, you don't expect a whole lot,” Los Angeles head coach Byron Scott said. “But once you get him in the gym and you see what he can do -- and we had a chance to see Jordan on a day-to-day basis and his work ethic and how much he wanted to be a good basketball player -- we could tell we had something special, we had a diamond in the rough. It's our job now to just continue to nurture that, to continue to push him to be the very best that he can be.” Jordan Clarkson shines at Summer League. (USATSI) When the Lakers push, they are unlikely to encounter any resistance. Tim Fuller, the former Missouri assistant coach who recruited him, recalled promising Clarkson's parents that he'd be dedicated to their son's development. Clarkson was transferring from Tulsa after his sophomore season, and Fuller -- just like Scott a couple of years later -- didn't know exactly what he was getting. Then they got in the gym. “The first thing I realized is man, this dude never gets tired,” Fuller said. “He had this unbelievable level of endurance. No matter whatever you threw at him, he was going to compete his way through it. When other dudes would be grabbing their knees, he was always like, ‘C'mon, man, gimme more, gimme more.'” In that respect, Fuller said the only player he's worked with at Clarkson's level is Chris Paul. Frank Haith, Mizzou's head coach at the time, raved the same way. Haith's first impression of Clarkson was that he was polite and pleasant, taking after his father who works in the Air Force. He soon found out that behind all the yes sirs and no sirs, Clarkson was more driven than just about anybody. “We spent a lot of time in the gym experimenting,” Fuller said. “[I'd say,] ‘Hey, try this, try that. Hey, I'm going to lob it off the backboard, I want you to go up, catch it, 360 and put it off the backboard soft. I want you to dribble full court, suicide 3s -- how many can you make in a minute?' Just literally trying to break through his threshold to see what was going to get him to the point where he said, ‘Man, I can't take it anymore.' Nothing ever did that.” Clarkson had to redshirt his first season as Missouri. The team's plan was to use that time to turn the 6-foot-5 wing into a point guard. He treated his practices as his games, which meant making things hard on the 5-11 Phil Pressey, who recently signed with the Portland Trail Blazers. “There were many days where coach Haith would stop practice because he was killing the other team so much,” Fuller said. After every pre-game meal, Clarkson put in a 40-minute workout with Fuller. Jordan Clarkson's game really picked up in his junior year at Mizzou. (USATSI) When he was finally able to suit up for the Tigers in 2013-14, Clarkson's playmaking had evolved since his days at Tulsa. In the Braggin' Rights game against Illinois at the end of December, he had a 25-8-6 line and stunned even Haith with a coast-to-coast layup where he glided in from behind the 3-point line. After scoring 28 points against Kentucky at the beginning of February, Clarkson had a conversation at his apartment with his father, Mike, and his stepmother, Janie. They told him that Mike had a rare form of cancer in his lower back. Clarkson and Missouri didn't want to publicize this, but everyone close to him knew he was struggling. Both Mike and Janie have since said that he wondered if he should just give up on basketball. “It affected him, it really did,” Haith said. “Jordan may not say it did, but it did. He wasn't the same player he was up until that point. His father kept telling him, ‘Hey I'm going to be fine, I'm great,' but his game wasn't the same as it was before that.” Clarkson knew that after the NBA trade deadline in mid-February, there would be more front-office types coming to see him play. Unfortunately and understandably, that's when Clarkson was distracted. Haith and Fuller told teams that he was definitely a first-round talent, and tried to explain what was behind his shooting percentage dropping and his turnovers rising. “They just didn't want to buy into that stock,” Fuller said. “So he went 46.” Fuller texted Washington Wizards vice president Tommy Sheppard his congratulations after the pick was made. Sheppard informed him that they were actually trading Clarkson to the Lakers. Fuller didn't know what to think at first, but he knew how Scott operated because they'd both worked with Chris Paul. “I told Jordan that coach Scott isn't a guy that gives a lot of leeway to rookies,” Fuller said. “But if you show him that you're a hard worker and that you're going to embrace his philosophy, and if you're tough and hard-nosed, then he'll eventually turn you loose.” Byron Scott sees Jordan Clarkson as a big part of LA's future. (USATSI) For Clarkson's first few months in Los Angeles, his minutes were inconsistent. Even though the team was losing, he was usually stuck on the end of the bench. On Christmas Day, he finally got some attention because of a memorable play on national television -- he missed a wide-open layup on a fast break. The DNP-CDs continued coming in the new year. On Jan. 21, though, Kobe Bryant tore his rotator cuff in New Orleans. Two days later in his hometown of San Antonio, Clarkson started at point guard. He kept that position for the rest of the season, having earned Scott's trust behind the scenes. All along, he'd been doing what he did in his redshirt season, quietly getting extra work done. Some of that was done in weekly sessions with Steve Nash. “He's one of those guys that he'll do whatever you ask him to do,” Scott said. “He'll spend 24 hours a day in the gym if you ask him to. I just love his work ethic. He's such a great kid. I just want all the best for him.” Clarkson put what he learned from Nash to good use. His style is nothing like Nash's, but he was comfortable when the ball was suddenly in his hands on almost every possession. In the last few months of the season, he had the poise of a much more experienced player, able to get to the rim or get his shot off cleanly while rarely turning the ball over out of the pick-and-roll. Clarkson said that once he started getting minutes, he felt like he was improving every time he took the court. In his last 13 games, Clarkson averaged 20.2 points, 6.5 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game with a true shooting percentage of 56.8 percent. At Los Angeles' final home game, the organization chose him to address the fans before tipoff. The next day, he told reporters that he was grateful for the opportunity to play, but he wasn't satisfied in the slightest. Just before going to Summer League, Clarkson flew to New York to work out with Nash. When he and a horde of Lakers fans arrived in Las Vegas, there were Clarkson jerseys everywhere. In his first game, he dropped an easy 23 points, looking like he didn't need to be there. In his last, he threw down the dunk of the summer over a helpless Jack Cooley of the Utah Jazz. Clarkson said he always had confidence, but he took it to another level after everything he'd learned from his first season and the time he'd put in afterward. “I thought he was really impressive,” Scott said. “He's shown that he's grown tremendously and that the season that he had last year wasn't a fluke, that he's continued to work to get better. And we're looking for big things from Jordan.” The Lakers will also be looking for different things from him. With Russell in the picture, Bryant back from injury and Lou Williams coming off the bench, Clarkson is no longer going to be able to dominate the ball. He's been preparing accordingly -- he's raised his release point on his jumper with the goal of knocking down 3-pointers consistently. “NBA personnel don't respect good players on bad teams,” Fuller said he told him. Adapting to his new role, handling increased expectations and becoming a better defender will be his challenges as a sophomore. Clarkson, for his part, sees himself as a work in progress. He grew up a track star, not playing organized basketball until junior high. “I've got a lot of room to grow,” he said, preferring not to say much about what he's already accomplished. He thinks he and Russell will complement each other and be fun to watch. While he clearly believes in himself, he'd rather let others talk him up. Despite everything that has changed this year, he can easily transport himself back to Barclays Center, where he heard his name called after 45 other prospects. “Just trying to prove people wrong,” Clarkson said. “That's all that ran through my mind. But I'm still trying to do the same thing. I feel like people still sleep, so I'm just trying to wake ‘em up.” Jordan Clarkson is part of the Lakers' young core. (USATSI) http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25250379
"He grew up a track star, not playing organized basketball until junior high." In next to last paragraph. Sprinter?
Now that's an awesome quote. As much flak as I give to Paul, it's almost exclusively on his mental side. Paul is an incredible talent and has maximized the effectiveness in his limited body. Jordan doesn't have the same physical limitations that Paul does and if Jordan continues to work this hard, he's got All-Star potential one day even in the Western Conference. I follow a lot of national writers and specifically I remember last week Steve Kyler got into it with a Laker fan about Clarkson being a "star". Kyler was dubious to say the least about that assessment and to be honest I thought the Laker fan was probably a little overzealous as well. I could have been wrong.
i was very encouraged by what i saw from clarkson in summer league. i wasn't as high as some on him by the end of last year, but his improvement seems to continue on the upward trajectory. he hasn't reached his peak yet, and i hope russell is paying close attention to the strides clarkson made, particularly physically, in his first year.
This is from a few weeks ago, but didn't see it posted here (nor in the 2014-2015 Clarkson thread). This guy, really says the right things. Great read, and it seems Kobe might not be that diabolic monster of a teammate, who'd have said it. My Rookie Year For the majority of my rookie year, I had to lug around a fake baby doll in a pink stroller whenever I was entering and leaving Staples Center. On Christmas Day, in front of a national TV audience, I made the “Not Top 10” on SportsCenter for missing a wide-open layup. Day in and day out at practice, I had to defend Kobe Bryant and received firsthand tutoring. What I’m saying is, it was a pretty entertaining first year in the league. Just over a year ago, I was drafted in the second round, 46th overall, by the Lakers. My reaction: Time to prove myself. Right after that, the Kobe clinic started. It was before the preseason and all the guys were at the gym playing pick-up — just the players. Kobe comes in. Everyone’s choosing their matchups and no one picked up Kobe. Surprise, surprise, right? I was the only one left. “JC, you got Kobe!” Someone yelled. It wasn’t even preseason yet, but Kobe was going full speed. Somehow he made it look as if he was just gliding around. I don’t think he had played all summer due to his injury, but he still killed everyone. The first possession, he caught the rock along the baseline and hit a turn-around jumper in my face … a shot I’ve seen him hit literally a thousand times on TV. (can't embed this thing, for some reason) “Hey, don’t hurt yourself, young fella,” Kobe uttered to me. It was one of my “Welcome to the NBA” moments. I experienced a few of those moments during my rookie year. I had the unenviable task of guarding Kobe throughout training camp. There aren’t too many guys who get an opportunity to sit down, talk to Kobe and actually pick his brain, but I was afforded this privilege. It was an incredible learning experience for me, to say the least. For all the stories you hear about Kobe talking trash and demanding a lot from his teammates, on many occasions he’s picked us up, too. He leads by example; however, you don’t hear about that much in the media. Another one of my “Welcome to the NBA” moments came on Christmas Day against the Chicago Bulls. It was definitely the most embarrassing moment of my NBA career thus far. Maybe you remember it because SportsCenter played the clip on loop for a couple of days. Time was winding down in the second quarter and I got a steal but completely missed a wide-open layup. What’s crazy is people don’t remember when they watch that clip that I went from a highlight reel to a failure so quickly. On the previous play, I had a timely block against Aaron Brooks that went out of bounds. On the very next play, after the timeout, was when my steal and missed layup occurred. Twitter instantly went from “Jordan Clarkson with the great block!” to “Man, he sucks!” A weird Christmas gift, right?! I’m not going to lie, that play hurt. We were already having a rough season, and the Christmas Day game was going to be one of our most-viewed games of the year. To have so many people watch me miss such an easy bucket was hard to swallow. Right after the play, I was on the bench and Kobe preached, “It’s basketball. It’s gonna happen. Forget about it.” That moment stuck with me throughout the year. By spring, you could see how much I had grown and how comfortable I was compared to my Christmas Day miscue. It took a lot of work to go from the “Not Top 10” to being selected for the NBA All-Rookie First Team. I used my stints in the D-League last season as an opportunity to improve. When the Lakers sent me down to the D-League, I didn’t view it as a demotion. I accepted it as a challenge. Plus, it meant playing more minutes, which meant growth. One thing you have to learn as a rookie, unless you’re LeBron James, is you aren’t going to get a lot of minutes right away. It can be hard to get a rhythm going. I didn’t get much playing time at the beginning of the year — from the opener to mid-January, I played in 19 games and averaged something like 11 minutes. After the All-Star break, they just threw me in the starting lineup, and I had to make that transition fast to prove I could play. By the end of the year, I had played in 59 games, started 38 and averaged about 25 minutes. By the later part of the season, I was tasked with starting the game, controlling the tempo and making plays for my teammates and myself. Not all rookie lessons are learned on the hardwood. There are factors like rookie duties and building team camaraderie. The vets on our team gave me responsibilities for the season. I mentioned that I had to carry the fake baby in a pink stroller whenever I was entering or leaving Staples Center. No reason to go into too much detail about that. But there were other chores, like dropping off uniforms each morning, too. Honestly, we got it kind of easy. The NBA is a fraternity, so it was cool to go through that introduction process. It never felt like punishment or anything. A lot of people on the outside think hazing goes on, but it doesn’t happen. Maybe it was worse in years before. Aside from the rookie duties, another huge aspect was developing friendships with team veterans. Despite having such an off year for Laker Nation, our unit was still pretty close. Nick Young and Carlos Boozer took me under their wings on the road. There were no internal conflicts that you hear about on some teams when they go through tough times. The bond wasn’t always about basketball. It was more about us being a family off the court. Sometimes you’ll hear about rookies feeling isolated — you go into your hotel room, order room service and you’re solo. My experience was the complete opposite. Carlos would be like, “Yo, JC, we’re going out to eat. Be downstairs at 7:30.” It wasn’t an invitation, but more like an order. Nick is a big shopper, so he would always let me know when they’d go to the mall. They always kept me in the loop, and that made me feel included as the newest player. The fans also played a huge role in making me feel accepted. Laker Nation is different from any other fanbase. Sometimes we’d be in Atlanta or somewhere and it felt like there were more Laker jerseys than home jerseys in the crowd. Despite having a losing record, our fans showed love both at home and on the road. Once you’re a Laker, all eyes truly are on you. If I could speak to the rookies who were just drafted — that was me a year ago — I’d tell them to have an open mind. Don’t let other people’s perceptions affect you too much. You’re a work in progress, not a finished product. There will be inevitable lows. Don’t let those become what you’re known for. It will be your reactions and ability to adjust that will define how successful your rookie campaign is. The Lakers are going to surprise people next year. And yes, I’m pretty sure we’re playing again on Christmas Day. I’d like to get a “redo.” http://www.theplayerstribune.com/jordan-clarkson-lakers-rookie-year/
Question for all you "ve pump you up" guys. Seems to me Jordan just since the end of the season...... has added an amazing amount, from what anyone expected, of solid mass and strength and even more athleticism. If this guy really is "that" guy ....... and keeps working with Tim DiFrancesco over the next few years, can he become "close" to the physical beast that Kobe evolved into? Not an over the top question if you believe he is at least driven like a great player, after reading this article below from above? He seems to have the frame and legs and athleticism for it. Not saying Kobe level but approaching it athletically? He didn't even start playing until jr. high school. http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25250379
He and Kobe have different body types. Jordan is lanky and lithe. I think his best bet isn't putting on big, bulky muscle but continuing to have that wiry core strength he's developed. I know he put a little on, but that's because he was incredibly thin coming in as a rookie. I'm honestly not sure what you mean though LT. For all that Kobe is and was, he's never been the most tremendous athlete. Even as a youngster he was a really, really good athlete but not next level athlete like LaVine, MJ, or Vince Carter. If you're asking if Clarkson can improve even more than he is right now athletically I'd say yes, but not by a ton. If you're asking if he can put on more muscle and maintain his current athleticism, I'd say probably not...
Actually what I'm asking is just can Jordan become anywhere close to what Kobe was in his prime. Because I realize Kobe was not VC or MJ or LaVine. You look at what Kobe "was" in his clips and it's astonishing how athletic "he" was on his own. I'm asking how "close" to as smooth and strong and quick and near what Kobe's vertical was in his prime? (they both have to cup the ball with hand and wrist to dunk). If JC could approach 90% that.....or more??.....who here would not be excited about that?
I mean like I said, you're comparing apples to oranges. Kobe is a bigger person than Jordan is so they're going to just move and jump and twist differently. Jordan can be (and in some ways already is) a B-version of Russell Westbrook. Fast, quick, and explosive. The difference that I see is Jordan isn't quite to those same levels as Russell which (in my opinion) is a good thing. Russell often plays beyond his body's limitations and puts extra strain on his ligaments in order to be so ridiculously explosive. Jordan isn't quite on that level, but is also more under control which I find more valuable and conducive to a long career. I think Jordan's peak athleticism is what you saw on that dunk over Cooley in the Summer League. Quick enough to get into the lane and explosive enough to finish over some bigger guys. Will he ever be Kobe? No, they're just two different people. Jordan won't be the guy who rises over Ben Wallace outside of the restricted area and dunks all over him. He'll be the guy that beats Ben Wallace to that spot on the floor and dunks it or lays it up before the defense can react.
Not 90% of Kobe's strength and athleticism? All I'm asking. Because I would be thrilled with that, personally. If not 90%, body frame and type noted, then pull a guesstimate from wherever (or not. you've already been patient). My problem is I'm not familiar with 19 years of watching Westbrook whereas the Kobe comparison I could relate to. Maybe I would still get a fatty from 85% of what Kobe brought in his prime if that were the case. Not saying that what you're saying about Westbrook being the better gauge isn't the better comparison. What else do I have to do until they hit training camp or there's more pics of DAR in the weight room?
LT what you're asking is if I could compare a bicycle to a skateboard and tell you if a skateboard is 90% of a bicycle. I don't know! They're both different with their own different sets of pros and cons. I already told ya, he's not "90% of Kobe" because they're two different players. Kobe in his prime didn't have the shifty quickness that Jordan is capable of. Jordan at his best will never be as strong and overwhelming as younger Kobe. They're just two different types of athletes.
That further helps, thanks! "Kobe in his prime didn't have the shifty quickness that Jordan is capable of. Jordan at his best will never be as strong and overwhelming as younger Kobe."
I don't think Clarkson is capable of being what Kobe is physically. Kobe is longer and stronger. Kobe isn't as fast in a full sprint, most likely. That being said, there's nothing stopping Clarkson from being an absolute stud physically. He'd just do it in his own way, according to strengths suited to him. Also - young Kobe was pretty darn athletic. Was he really not as athletic as Carter? Are we just basing this off of ridiculous dunks or full physical ability?
Kobe had great athleticism, but VC was just on another level man. Kobe did have great explosion, hangtime, and power, but Carter just floated to the rim like a helium balloon. He made it look effortless.
