Jordan Clarkson Agrees to Four-Year Contract with Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson has agreed to a new four-year contract to remain at the Staples Center.

Continue for updates.

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Clarkson Agrees to Lakers Deal

Friday, July 1

"Jordan Clarkson has reached agreement on a four-year, $50 million deal to return to the Los Angeles Lakers," tweeted Shams Charania of The Vertical, citing league sources. Greg Beacham of the Associated Press later confirmed the agreement.

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Clarkson Comments on Future

Thursday, June 16

"L.A. is like home for me, so I definitely want to be here," Clarkson told Shahan Ahmed of NBCLosAngeles.com. "I definitely want to stay in L.A. but kind of have an open mind."

"I want to stay in L.A.," Clarkson told Chris McGee of Time Warner Cable Sportsnet in May (via Harrison Faigen of Silver Screen and Roll). "I don't really look at it as me being a free agent, because I want to be here."

The Lakers find themselves on the brink of paying a premium for Clarkson's services because they only signed him to a two-year deal coming out of Missouri. He'll be a restricted free agent July 1, and he'll likely command an eight-figure annual salary.

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Knicks Have Interest in Clarkson

Thursday, June 9

ESPN.com's Ian Begley reported the New York Knicks were among the teams interested, writing Clarkson "has fans" in the organization. 

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Clarkson Continuing to Make Great Progress in NBA

Clarkson, 24, averaged 15.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game in 2015-16. He's started 117 of 138 games since being selected in the second round in 2014, including all 79 of his appearances this season.

While there are still flaws to his game—Clarkson isn't a great passer for a primary ball-handler, and he still takes too many mid-range jumpers—guys don't typically become free agents this early in their careers. Rookie contracts for first-round picks last up to four years (including team options), and teams have become increasingly stringent in getting extra options tied into second-rounders as well.

The structure of Clarkson's contract will be quite interesting. He is subject to the Gilbert Arenas provision from opposing teams offering him contracts. The maximum amount a team can offer Clarkson in the first year of his new contract is for the non-taxpayer mid-level exception. The second year of any offer sheet can have a raise of no more than 4.5 percent from that number.

In the third and fourth years of those deals, restrictions no longer apply and Clarkson could get a maximum-level salary. Contractual structures like these were seen in the deals the Houston Rockets gave to Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik in 2012. They were categorized as poison-pill contracts, designed to get their incumbent teams not to match.

If a team wanted to max Clarkson out over four years, it likely wouldn't wind up paying him more than $60 million overall—depending on how high the salary cap goes. The Lakers can alleviate some of this concern by simply signing Clarkson outright. But they may want to use the poison-pill structure to their advantage and save as much space for the next two summers as possible.

Either way, there's a lot more than meets the eye here with Clarkson's free agency. He'll be back in Los Angeles, but the financials are going to be fascinating. 

Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.