Recent rumors have emerged that Los Angeles Lakers combo guard Jordan Clarkson might ask for a trade after his demotion to a bench role in current head coach Luke Walton's administration.
The Lakers have played four games so far in the preseason and Clarkson came off the bench in all of them. He was a regular starter for former head coach Byron Scott last season when he averaged career-highs of 15.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 32.3 minutes per game.
The incoming third-year pro has actually thrived with his new role as he is currently the team's leading scorer with 13.5 points per game even if he is only playing a little over 21 minutes a night.
However, speculations abound that Clarkson will eventually demand to become a starter to improve his career path moving forward. If Walton will not provide him the opportunity, then the former Missouri standout may ask to be traded to another club.
Inquisitr reported that Clarkson "may be looking for a fresh start elsewhere" as a result of his relegation to a backup role.
Two scenarios are circling online these days with the first one linking him to the Cleveland Cavaliers for JR Smith while the second one is a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers for either Nerlens Noel or Jahlil Okafor.
Reports are out, however, that Clarkson's perceived unhappiness with his new role is baseless as Walton explained that the move was not a demotion but a way to strengthen the Lakers bench and the team as a whole. The coach even compared it to the way the team utilized Lamar Odom off the bench during the team's glory days earlier this millennium.
"I don't look at it as really coming off the bench as much as the way (former Lakers star) Lamar Odom came off our bench but he was really a starter," said Walton. "He played big minutes, played the end of ball games. Manu Ginobili did it for years in San Antonio. It's really a way of getting a starter in with the second unit so you don't have a lot of drop-off. But he's very good at that role so far."
Clarkson said that it "does not matter" to him what role he is playing, "as long as I'm on the court, playing minutes", he said, via Sportsrageous.
"I'm going to impact the game some way, if that's defensively or offensively. I'm always going to be aggressive on both ends of the floor, that's where I'm going to make my mark," Clarkson added.