Jordan Clarkson (Photo : Getty Images)
The Philadelphia 76ers may find themselves in a bidding war with the Los Angeles Lakers, with Philly reportedly pursuing restricted free agent Jordan Clarkson.
Clarkson, after two seasons in the NBA with the Lakers, could be in the radar of the 76ers, according to ESPN.
ESPN NBA Mock Draft special talking #Sixers offseason. Predict them to sign G Jordan Clarkson.
— Sports Are Philly (@SportsArePhilly) June 21, 2016
With Philadelphia in dire need of a reliable point guard, free agency gives them a chance to pursue the available PGs in the market, including the 22-year-old Clarkson. However, with the Lakers having the rights to match any offer sheet given to their combo guard, the 76ers could enter a bidding war with LA for the services of Clarkson.
The 76ers and Lakers are two of the teams with very flexible salary cap spaces for this summer, making it intriguing to see outbidding each other to acquire a point guard, who has been LA's most consistent scorer in the past two seasons, averaging a career 14.0 points and 2.9 assists per game.
According to Bret Stuter of Sports Illustrated's Fansided, Clarkson could be a nice fit to play alongside 2016 NBA draft first overall Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, who is expected to have his NBA debut next season.
"There are only a handful of free agents this year who meet the age and the production to be a true impact player signing for the Philadelphia 76ers. Jordan Clarkson has been a productive guard for the Lakers despite that team's struggles of late. I believe that production will translate very well in an offense that boasts Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid," Stuter noted.
It is unknown whether the 76ers have a genuine interest in signing Clarkson, but the Lakers have been reportedly keen in bringing their backcourt piece come free agency.
According to Mark Medina of the Orange County Register, while the Lakers require the much-needed flexibility of more than $60 million to sign top free agents in the market, there are still many ways to keep rival teams at bay in offering Clarkson a lucrative deal that may compromise the Lakers' potential splashy spending this summer.
Medina noted that the Lakers could either quickly negotiate with Clarkson after July 1 "to prevent team from offering Clarkson something out of their [Lakers] price range, or "ensure more spending power in the next two years by matching any of Clarkson's offer sheets."
"Larry Coon, an independent NBA salary cap expert and IT director at UC Irvine, said the Lakers could pay Clarkson around $5.5 million for the next two seasons using the so-called Gilbert Arenas rule. After that, Clarkson would then receive a hefty pay raise around $22-$23 million per season," Medina added.
Nevertheless, the Lakers seem in synced with Clarkson's desire to remain a Lakers in the coming years after finding success in two dismal seasons with the Purple and Gold.
"L.A. is like home for me, so I definitely want to be here. I definitely want to stay in L.A. but kind of have an open mind," Clarkson told NBC Los Angeles.
There may be more to it than just monetary figures for Clarkson to quickly re-sign with the Lakers this summer. LA will have Luke Walton next season, which gives a hint the Lakers would likely keep any of their young core, including Clarkson, to see what a former Laker player can do with the youngsters' potentials. These leave the 76ers with very slim chance to snag Clarkson from the helms of the 16-time NBA champs.
