The Knicks are getting real value out of the bargain bin again, and this time Jordan Clarkson is the one making the deal look smart.
In the apron era, teams have to squeeze production out of the bottom of the roster. New York has done that well with veteran-minimum signings, turning a low-cost slot into meaningful help off the bench.
Last season it was Landry Shamet. This season, Clarkson is the latest minimum-contract player giving the Knicks a lift.
The numbers back up what the eye test already says. Through New York’s first nine games, Clarkson leads the team in plus/minus at +58.
Even more telling, he has done it in just 83 minutes, which ranks only 10th on the roster. In each of his first eight appearances, the Knicks outscored their opponent while he was on the floor.
Clarkson is in his 13th NBA season, so the scoring explosions that once earned him Sixth Man of the Year won’t be the headline anymore. He’s had a DNP-CD against the Detroit Pistons, and there have been games when he didn’t check in until the second half.
But whenever he does enter, the impact has been immediate. He brings a burst of energy, and New York has felt it.
He’s also giving the Knicks extra juice on the offensive glass, something he did late last season as well when he again proved to be a major value on a minimum salary. And after going nearly two months without a 3-pointer from March until May last year, Clarkson has opened this season 6-for-9 from deep.
For the first three weeks of the season, it’s hard to find a veteran’s minimum player who has meant more to his team than Clarkson has meant to the Knicks.
Shamet’s path last season shows how quickly these low-cost bets can pay off. He arrived at training camp on a non-guaranteed deal, with Malcolm Brogdon widely viewed as the favorite for the lone roster opening.
But Brogdon retired, Shamet made the team, and the rest followed. He later hit 11 of his 12 3-point attempts in the Eastern Conference Finals and averaged 24.2 minutes per game in the NBA Finals.
That performance earned Shamet a four-year, $24 million contract in the offseason. At 29, he is five years younger than Clarkson, so a similar payday may not be waiting next summer. For now, though, the Knicks are getting exactly what they hoped for: real production from a veteran minimum contract.
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