Golden State Warriors: Ian Clark’s departure was expected
Ian Clark will not be back with the Golden State Warriors next season and it isn’t much of a surprise.
When the Golden State Warriors kept their core together in free agency, it meant that some players were going to be squeezed out. With only so much money to go around and the team adding to their roster, not everyone was going to be back.
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Just about every team goes through roster turnover every year. For the Warriors, they only really lost pieces at the end of the bench that could be retiring or were no longer needed. However, Ian Clark was a piece that began to grow as a player in this league.
With the amount of guard depth that the Warriors have, it was just never likely he was going to return. That’s why it probably came as no surprise to anyone when Shams Charania reported that Clark agreed to a deal with the New Orleans Pelicans.
With two dominant big men, the Pelicans are looking to get as many guards as they can and Clark will be able to have a much larger role there. He saw an increase in production with his minutes this year and saw valuable playing time.
Free agent Ian Clark has agreed to a one-year deal with the New Orleans Pelicans, league sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 1, 2017
In New Orleans, Clark will be relied on for his championship experience and will be seen as a veteran in the locker room. There’s a lot of wisdom he can help bestow upon a promising young team like New Orleans.
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This seems like the perfect marriage considering they needed back court depth. It’s a low-risk move that has the potential to pay off big. If Clark has a big year for New Orleans, then it could parlay into an even bigger deal in free agency next year. He got to learn a lot in Golden State and now gets to work on blossoming his career.