With the Dwight Howard sweepstakes taking place, many of the Laker faithful have forgotten about other free agent forward Earl Clark. Clark met with the Cleveland Cavaliers Tuesday, and both parties have expressed mutual interest.
According to SportingNews NBA, Clark and the Cavaliers will meet again on Wednesday for a second meeting.
Lakers’ Earl Clark met w Cavs. Won’t repeat cliche “Mtg went well.” But sides will meet again Wednesday, source says http://t.co/2HfRAHFIae
— Sean Deveney (@SeanDeveney) July 2, 2013
The Cavs have not offered a contract to Clark yet, but both sides are very interested.
Clark has taken a different career path since coming into the NBA as a lottery pick of the Phoenix Suns in 2009. He was then sent to the Orlando Magic as part of the Vince Carter and Hedo Turkoglu deal after his rookie season, but never really got a chance in Orlando, only averaging 2.7 points on 36.7 percent shooting in limited action.
Clark came to the Lakers as part of the deal that brought them Dwight Howard before the 2012-2013 season. Last season, Clark got extended playing time with all of the injuries to the Lakers, and became a more-than-valuable asset to the Lakers. He averaged 7.3 points per game and 5.5 rebounds a game in his first chance with the Lakers. Clark showed himself to be a good rebounder with plenty of energy, and a player who can develop into a 3-point threat with a couple more years of experience.
Clark has plenty of connections to the Cavaliers. Mike Brown coached him for five games with the Lakers last year, and Brown loves the stretch power forwards who can shoot the three ball and open the floor up for dribble penetration. Cavaliers assistant general manager Dave Griffin was also with the Suns when Clark was drafted.
The problem from a Lakers’ standpoint is that Clark might be wanting too much money and that is something the Lakers cannot give him. Hopefully the Lakers can put together a convincing enough pitch to Clark to bring him back for less than Cleveland will offer him, but at the moment it seems unlikely.
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