Jordan Clarkson is one of the few bright spots the Lakers can brag about and if they are wise, making sure he doesn’t end up playing elsewhere is a priority.

With Kobe Bryant retiring by the end of the season, Clarkson is undoubtedly next in line to succeed the Black Mamba and is someone worthy of getting a max contract compared to other players who are demanding one with so many questions attached.

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The Lakers are expected to undergo yet another major revamp after this season with Clarkson and most likely Julius Randle and D’Angelo Russell being kept.

Though that is subject to change (particularly if a hard-to-resist deal comes to the table), Clarkson is seen as someone who has a lock on one of the roster spots for the Lakers, as pointed out by HNGN.

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Clarkson will become a restricted free agent this season and chances are he will be getting a big raise which could be worth about $34.1 million for three years or a longer $57.8 million over four years at the least.

But the Lakers could save themselves the trouble of having to match any offer thrown at Clarkson by immediately offering him an $88.9 million spread over four years, assuming they want to discourage teams from even thinking about snagging the 46th pick of the 2014 NBA Draft.

"They can either let him try the free-agent market knowing that, at the very worst, some team is going to spring an Arenas contract on him that they won't mind matching," Larry Coon said via the LA Times. "Or they can offer him a slightly better deal that's still better than he can get anywhere else,"

Clarkson is a success story to behold. The Filipino-American basketball player rose to prominence by defying the odds as he rose from a virtual unknown to making it to the NBA All-Rookie first team.

Since then, he has been the steadiest player on the Lakers’ roster, though he has been hampered by injuries on occasion.

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