Los Angeles Lakers point guard Jordan Clarkson attempts a layup against Philadelphia 76ers' Nerlens Noel. (Photo : Getty Images)
The impending free-agency of Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson may end up as big boulder standing on the way of the Fil-American in his desire to join the Philippine men's basketball team at the upcoming Olympic Qualifier in Manila.
Clarkson, who is averaging 15.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in his second season with the Lakers, will hit the market as a restricted free-agent this summer.
July 1 will mark the beginning of free-agency period, which is expected to create a lot of buzz this year due to availability of superstar Kevin Durant - the Lakers' no.1 free-agency target.
Now here's the tricky part. The Olympic qualifier, in which the Philippines is one of the six teams (the other are New Zealand, France, Canada, Senegal and Turkey) vying for a solitary spot in the Rio Olympics, is slated to begin July 5 through July 10.
And while Clarkson will have his agent to take care of free-agency stuff, there's still chance he might take a pass in joining the Philippines in the tournament, especially if he still couldn't find an acceptable offer from his current team by that time.
The best case scenario for Gilas Pilipinas to have Clarkson's service in July would be the Lakers expressing their intention to match any contract offer to the guard months ahead of free-agency. This will make the process a lot smoother between the Lakers and Clarkson's camp, allowing the player to fully commit with the RP team.
On the other hand, there's also the possibility that this could turn into a messy negotiation, similar to the Tristan Thompson-Cavaliers drama last offseason. Thompson, who was originally scheduled to join Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett in that loaded Canadian front-court, had to skip the FIBA Americas championship all because of that contract negotiation muddle.
Of course, Clarkson won't ask for a contract worth $85 million over five years, but he will demand for a pay hike after taking paychecks below $1M over his first two seasons.
Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak himself confirmed that he received a ton of offers for the team's young core at the trade deadline (h/t Real GM). Clarkson is one of them, and there's no doubt he'll be getting enticing offer from multiple teams.
For hoops fans around the world eager to see Clarkson playing international ball with the Philippine team in the Olympic qualifier, their best is hope would be the Lakers stepping up to lock in the Fil-American standout the earlier the better. If not, then the possibility of him not making into the qualifier surely increases tenfold.
