Coming into the season the Los Angeles Lakers seemingly had their backcourt of the future in D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson. That’s why it came as a pretty big surprise when Clarkson was moved to a bench role with veteran Nick Young spending most of the season starting next to Russell.
Down the stretch of the season, Luke Walton was able to experiment with a number of different lineups and combinations with one of the first moves made being inserting Clarkson back into the starting lineup. This allowed the Lakers to see how he could handle the primary point guard role and Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka were surely taking a close look.
Pelinka recently appeared on Mason and Ireland on ESPN LA and praised Clarkson for his mentality down the stretch of the season (via Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters):
Rob Pelinka talking Jordan Clarkson, said down the stretch was "one of our best.” Praised his “attack mode” mentality.
(on @ESPNLosAngeles)— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) April 24, 2017
Of course Clarkson’s move into the starting lineup meant Russell was moved to the bench and Pelinka also spoke highly on Russell responding well to the move (via Winters):
Rob Pelinka on D’Angelo Russell not starting a few games: "I felt like he responded to that challenge & brought his game to another level."
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) April 24, 2017
Ultimately Russell was moved back with the starters as he and Clarkson showed some excellent chemistry when paired together. Both guys played very well down the stretch of the season as their roles increased.
After the All-Star Break Clarkson averaged 17.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. Russell meanwhile, averaged 18.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists while also shooting a solid 35.6 percent from three-point range.