Five things to watch in Jordan Clarkson’s 2015-16 season

Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson hopes he can build off a promising rookie season. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker/L.A. Daily News)

Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson hopes he can build off a promising rookie season. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker/L.A. Daily News)

Below is the fourth in a series looking at five things surrounding each notable player on the Lakers’ roster for the 2014-15 season. This post focuses on Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson.

1. Can Clarkson build off a promising rookie season?

His experience with the Lakers quickly morphed from a player rarely cracking the rotation into a player the team leaned on the most. Kobe Bryant had just suffered a season-ending right shoulder injury. Jeremy Lin and Ronnie Price mostly offered inconsistency at the point guard spot. It soon became apparent that any significance of the Lakers’ 2014-15 season would have more to do with development than wins.

So Clarkson started 38 of the Lakers’ next 39 games. He averaged 15.8 points on 45.8 percent shooting, five assists and 4.2 rebounds in 32.1 minutes. He refused to back down against elite point guards, such as San Antonio’s Tony Parker, Washington’s John Wall, Chicago’s Derrick Rose and the Clippers’ Chris Paul. Clarkson played well enough to land a spot on the NBA’s All-Rookie First team.

But how will Clarkson top proving the general public he is worth more than just the 46th pick of the 2014 NBA Draft?

Clarkson already made that first step. He routinely talks about the need to improve. Team accounts rave about Clarkson’s work ethic. In five Summer League games, Clarkson posted a team-leading 16.8 points on 41.3 percent shooting, 3.6 rebounds and two assists through 32.4 minutes. But plenty more steps await in the 2015-16 season.

2. Clarkson should work well with D’Angelo Russell

Based on their Summer League play, it appears Russell and Clarkson have embraced each other’s presence. Neither appeared threatened of the other player’s position. Although the dynamic forced them to share ball handling duties, Russell and Clarkson determined how to even up that workload pretty easily. Russell mostly handled the ball and organized the offense, while Clarkson mostly moved off the ball and looked to score. The roles only switched whenever Clarkson grabbed the rebound. But to make their games less predictable, Russell will have to look to shoot more (and make them), while Clarkson will have to temper his instincts at times and look to pass first.

3. How does Clarkson adjust playing with Kobe Bryant?

This factor could complicate the dynamic Clarkson and Russell forged well. No doubt, Bryant’s presence will help the Lakers. But for a player who shoots often and needs the ball in his hand, that will call for Clarkson to adjust his game. It wouldn’t hurt for Clarkson to improve his three-point shooting (23.8 percent in Summer League) and perimeter defense.

Clarkson has publicly praised Bryant for his constant feedback last season. But Bryant’s season-ending injury coincided with Clarkson’s increased role, meaning their on-court chemistry in actual games is currently non-existent.

Clarkson’s aggressive instinct should prompt Bryant to have more trust in feeding him the ball. Clarkson’s scoring threat should also ease Bryant’s workload and reduce the suffocating defense he always faces. But without much of a body of work to evaluate from, it remains hard to predict how quickly or long it will take for this dynamic to sort out.

4. Can Clarkson improve on his sleep and nutrition?

Talk to anyone on the Lakers about Clarkson, and they will gush about his hunger, work ethic and competitiveness. As much as those qualities has propelled Clarkson’s development, his next step will entail knowing when to scale back. For a story on this very issue, Lakers strength and conditioning coach Tim DiFrancesco revealed Clarkson graded himself a “D” in sleep and nutrition.

Not entirely a big deal. At 22, Clarkson does not need to stay as disciplined in those areas as a veteran NBA player would. But both areas will provide long-term benefits in his recovery time, conditioning and overall health. Based on Clarkson’s thirst for self-improvement, DiFrancesco expressed confidence Clarkson will make enough adjustments to warrant an ‘A’ in both categories.

5. Does Clarkson fit into the Lakers’ long-term future?

Clarkson may currently represent the Lakers’ crop of young players. But will that last past this year? He will make $845,059 this season, which marks the league minimum for a second-year player. But if his trajectory continues, Clarkson could receive a hefty pay raise once he becomes a restricted free agent, making it unlikely he would accept $2.7 million qualifying offer to play for another season.

The Lakers could re-sign Clarkson via his early Bird rights up to four years at around $25 million. But Clarkson may attract more on the open market. The Lakers also could sign Clarkson to a max deal, four years at around $95 million. But that would compromise the Lakers’ cap flexibility.

This uncertainty also hinges on to what degree Clarkson feels loyal to the Lakers and to what degree he wants to secure a lucrative deal. Of course, the Lakers’ sentiment will depend on how Clarkson plays. So instead of simply striving to prove he belongs in the NBA, Clarkson’s next goal will entail proving he is a worthy long-term asset.

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Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter and on Facebook. E-mail him at mark.medina@langnews.com