Imagining Ian Clark on the Brooklyn Nets
Ian Clark is one of many free agents the Golden State Warriors will have to decide on whether to keep this offseason. The Brooklyn Nets need to add young talent without compromising future cap space. The two might just be a match.
The Golden State Warriors are likely to make their third consecutive NBA Finals. They have won at least 67 games each of the past three seasons. The Dubs have somehow gotten better each season since Steve Kerr took over.
Why would any player want to leave a potential dynasty?
In a perfect world nobody on the Warriors would consider leaving the team. Every player wants to win and there is not a better place to do so in the league right now. Besides, playing in Cleveland means being in the spotlight and hearing LeBron James want to replace you if the team isn’t winning.
Money is why players leave winning teams. Who can forget Mark Cuban gutting the 2010-11 NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks? The contract demands of the incumbent free agents forced Cuban’s hand and required him to let his free agents walk in free agency.
Kevin Durant and Steph Curry have the opportunity to become free agents. It is highly unlikely either of those players leave. Beyond that, Shaun Livingston, Andre Iguodola, Zaza Pachulia and Javale McGee are all unrestricted free agents.
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Golden State is going to give Durant and Curry max contracts. At least three of those players will be retained by the team. Some of them will have to take pay cuts as veterans chasing championships.
One player who won’t be taking a pay cut is Ian Clark.
Clark is hitting free agency after two productive seasons with the Warriors. During the 2015-16 season Clark would see the floor due to the absence of Harrison Barnes, who missed 16 games due to injury. Considering the Warriors went on to win the most games in NBA regular season history, it is safe to say that Clark did an admirable job as a spot starter.
In his four seasons in the league, Clark has shot 36 percent from deep. Clark’s 3-point shooting would make him a perfect combo guard off of the Nets’ bench. He could be exactly what Kenny Atkinson is looking for.
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On the Warriors Clark has rarely been the primary ball-handler. Curry and Livingston are the team’s top two point guards while Iguodala, Durant and Draymond Green have also assumed play-making duties.
Clark is a legitimate producer. Though his role has never been major, he has been apart of two historically dominant teams. This past season, Clark had a career year. He shot 49 percent from the field and scored seven points per game. Though his assist-to-turnover ratio can improve (roughly one-to-one) he doesn’t need to do much outside of hoisting 3-pointers for Atkinson.
A Clark signing for Brooklyn would mean that the team would have to let go of some of the guards already on the roster. There would be no need for the team to retain all three of Joe Harris, Sean Kilpatrick and Archie Goodwin with Clark in tow. Assuming the Nets shore up their front-court in the draft, and given Marks’ comments about the team’s need for a small forward, Clark’s arrival may force Marks to make a difficult decision.
Thus is the life of an NBA general manager.
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Clark is a low-usage superstar. His on-court plus-minus, while deceiving considering the talent he is surrounded by, warrants the Nets giving him a look. The Brooklyn Nets are in a position to gamble on unproven players. They could give Clark a reasonably priced ($8-12 million a year), short term deal.
Considering the fit, and the fact that Clark would immediately become of the Nets top scoring options, Brooklyn’s front office should consider bringing the four-year veteran on board for next season.