Philadelphia’s stagnant second unit needs a spark. Betting on the former Sixth Man of the Year offers a low-risk gamble to secure veteran shot-creation at a discount.
Jordan Clarkson is not the same scorer he once was.
That is why he could be affordable.
The Sixer Sense recently floated Clarkson as a possible cheap bench-scoring option for the Philadelphia 76ers, and the idea makes sense if the price is low enough. Clarkson’s value is no longer at its peak. He averaged a career-low 8.6 points this season while playing fewer than 18 minutes per game, a clear drop from the player who once won Sixth Man of the Year and regularly hovered around 16 to 18 points per night.
But that decline does not make him useless.
It may just make him obtainable.
The Sixers have spent years searching for reliable bench offense. Too often, Philadelphia’s second units have become stagnant when Tyrese Maxey or Joel Embiid leave the floor. The offense slows down, the ball sticks, and the team struggles to find someone capable of creating a decent shot late in the clock. Clarkson would not solve every issue, but he would at least give the Sixers someone with a long track record of generating points without needing perfect structure around him.
That has always been his value.
Clarkson is a rhythm scorer. He can come off the bench, get downhill, hit pull-up jumpers, attack tilted defenses, and heat up quickly. At his best, he gives a team the kind of scoring burst that can change losses into wins. That is why he won Sixth Man of the Year in 2021, when he averaged 18.4 points for Utah and became one of the league’s most dangerous reserve scorers.
In a smaller role, Clarkson could still be useful. He would not be asked to carry a second unit every night or act as a full-time lead guard. He would be asked to provide shot creation, attack closeouts, make defenses respect his jumper, and give the Sixers a little more offensive life off the bench. For a team that needs more easy scoring, that has value.
The concern is that Clarkson’s decline wasn't just a down year
His scoring dip cannot be ignored. Neither can the fact that he shot just 32.7 percent from three this season. If he is not making jumpers at a respectable rate, his value becomes more complicated because he is not a defensive specialist or a high-level organizer. He is on the floor to score. When that skill is inconsistent, the rest of the profile becomes harder to justify.
That is why the contract matters so much.
Clarkson only makes sense if he comes cheaply. If the Sixers view him as a low-risk bench scorer on a short-term deal, the idea is reasonable. If they expect him to be a major rotation solution, they may be asking too much.
Still, Philadelphia could do worse than betting on a proven scorer at a discounted price.
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Wes Dixon is a contributing writer to 76ersRoundtable. He can be reached at [email protected].
