What Will Ian Clark Bring to the Warriors?

The Golden State Warriors recently signed shooting guard Ian Clark, former star at Belmont during his collegiate days. Clark went undrafted during the 2013 draft, and signed with the Dubs’ Summer League squad, and was named Summer League MVP while leading the Warriors to their first ever Summer League championship. Golden State decided to not sign him after his impressive Summer League showing, and Clark signed with the Utah Jazz.

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Clark now returns to the Warriors’ organization, but will be the 16th player on the Dubs’ roster. The question now is: will he remain on the squad or will he be sent down to the D-League? If Clark does stay with Golden State, what exactly can he contribute to the team?

Clark is a 6’3 shooting guard – a size more suited to the point guard position. He also has below-average athletic ability, which when combined with his lack of size, makes Clark a liability on the defensive end. Clark lacks the size and strength to defend NBA shooting guards, but also lacks the quickness to defend NBA point guards. The Warriors value players who can defend multiple positions, and on paper, Clark isn’t able to adequately defend even one.

The Warriors value players who can defend multiple positions, and on paper, Clark isn’t able to adequately defend even one.

Clark is a good shooter, however, as he shot 45% from three last season in the D-League, and 38% in all competitions (NBA and D-League). The bench has been an area of focus for the Warriors this offseason, and they hope that Ian Clark will provide some scoring punch from the pine. Clark had a career-high (so far, hopefully) amount of points against the Warriors on the Jazz’s final game of the season, with 9, including a make from beyond the arc.

Apr 15, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Ian Clark (20) dribbles the ball as Golden State Warriors center Marreese Speights (5) chases during the second quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

That being said, however, Clark will presumably ride the bench for most of the season, most likely filling in the spot that Justin Holiday left when he signed with the Atlanta Hawks, where most of his minutes will come in garbage time, and will be counted on to provide buckets in the case of injuries to any of the guards.

This is obviously a developmental case for the Warriors, as they have seen what Clark can do while shooting the ball, and hope that, under the right care, he can advance that aspect of his game and improve all of the other parts of his game to become a more complete player.

I like developing players as much as the next guy, and I feel that it is the sign of a healthy, successful organization when you can take the time to develop players in your system for their future use for your team. But, I do not like this signing.

I feel that if the Warriors were to spend time developing a slightly undersized player who showed major flashes of potential in college but not necessarily in the pros, they should have looked at their own organizations and called up point guard Aaron Craft from Santa Cruz, instead of going into free agency and signing Ian Clark to a guaranteed contract.

Nov 5, 2014; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz guard Ian Clark (21) warms up prior to the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at EnergySolutions Arena. The Jazz won 102-100. Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

Craft has played his entire, albeit short, professional career in the Warriors’ organization, and he understands how to run the offense from the point guard, is an improved shooter, and, unlike Clark, can actually defend someone.

Unlike Clark, Craft can actually defend someone.

This is where this signing really starts to unravel for me. There are plenty of young shooters out on the market, and most of them are able to defend their position, and, in some cases, other positions, too. The Warriors’ front office clearly has seen something in Clark that his film and stats have not shown the rest of us, and while they are probably right about Clark (this current front office hasn’t really been wrong about a whole lot) if anything, I just do not feel that he is going to be able to contribute to this team very well. Maybe another season in the D-League would suit him well, but perhaps we shouldn’t have signed him in the first place.

What do you think about this signing? Are you with me, or do you believe that Clark can be the player that he was at Belmont? Let us know by commenting down below.

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