2016 NBA Free Agency Rumors: Philadelphia 76ers Going After Jordan Clarkson?

Jun 27, 2016 09:48 AM EDT

Jordan Clarkson is expected to become a free agent next month but it is not yet clear what the Los Angeles Lakers plan to do with him. However, according to new rumors, he could get signed by the Philadelphia 76ers.

According to Fan Sided, the Lakers have big plans once the NBA free agency begins on July 1. As stated in previous reports, the Los Angeles franchise is targeting to get high profile players such as Hassan Whiteside, Al Horford and Kevin Durant. Because of this, it's hard to speculate what the team will do with its upcoming free agents, which includes Clarkson.

However, if the team decides to let go of the shooting guard, he could sign with the 76ers, who are also on the lookout for a reliable guard. This could go well for both Clarkson and the 76ers because aside from being reliable, the athlete is also a veteran who has two years of professional basketball under his belt.

Aside from that, he averages 15.5 points per game with the Lakers and has an 81.5 percent accuracy when it comes to free throws. Furthermore, joining Philadelphia can also be good for Clarkson's overall performance and career because he will most likely get paired up with Ben Simmons, the 76ers' No. 1 overall pick.

In addition, despite being a veteran, Clarkson is still a young player at age 24. That means the 76ers will have enough leeway to sign Clarkson with a long term deal.

But then again, Philadelphia hasn't explicitly stated that it's going after Clarkson through free agency. This means the player could still remain with the Lakers, depending on the outcome of negotiations, of course.

However, if it were up to Clarkson, he would still prefer to continue playing in Los Angeles. He even said back in May that he's been trying to improve his on-court abilities ever since the regular season ended.

"I want to stay in L.A.," he told Chris McGee of TWC Sportsnet. "I don't really look at it as me being a free agent because I want to be here."

"I'm shooting a lot of threes, trying to get my three-point percentage up for next year," he added. "A lot of stuff off the dribble, a lot of stuff with contact and trying to be able to finish. That's probably the biggest thing offensively."