Tue, Dec 24, 2019 at 10:00am

JORDAN CLARKSON JOINS THE JAZZ

The Utah Jazz acquired guard Jordan Clarkson from the Cleveland Cavaliers for guard Dante Exum, a second-round draft pick in 2022 and a second-round draft pick in 2023.

What does it give the Utah Jazz
The Jazz have been on a major roll lately, winning six of their last eight games. However, they are still trailing Denver in the Northwest Division, so adding Clarkson here should help Utah inch closer to the Nuggets. Clarkson is a scorer off the bench, so his presence may allow Joe Ingles to start regularly (Ingles has been coming off the bench a lot this season).

What does it give the Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers decided to trade Clarkson as they continue to rebuild behind the backcourt duo of Collin Sexton and Darius Garland. In Exum, the Cavs land a combo guard who is still just 24 years old. Exum, the fifth overall pick in 2014, never fully emerged as a rotation member in Utah but he should get a much better opportunity in Cleveland.

Fantasy impact
Clarkson should continue to score off the bench after the move to Utah, though his minutes could be diminished once Utah is fully healthy. Still, he remains a viable fantasy option. As for Exum, he could become a decent pickup in very deep fantasy leagues at some point in 2019-20, though perhaps not right away.