Jaylen Clark Has Outgrown His Two-Way Contract

Jaylen Clark has had a tumultuous 18 months.

He tore his Achilles in UCLA’s final game of the regular season, signed a rare two-year, two-way contract, and spent over a year rehabbing. He also played 20 games in the G-League before becoming a rotational contributor with the Timberwolves as they fight through injuries.

Clark immediately made an impact when he played 10 minutes in his first non-garbage time stint on Jan. 29 against the Phoenix Suns.

“I didn’t think I was playing,” Clark admitted after the game. “I thought it was just like a routine sit, clap, go home type thing.”

Clark has earned Chris Finch’s trust, and it’s time for Tim Connelly and the front office to structure a standard NBA contract for Jaylen Clark. After this season, he will become a restricted free agent, as he is in the final season of his two-year, two-way contract.

Donte DiVincenzo missed the Suns game with turf toe. Josh Minott made a defensive miscue, and Finch immediately pulled him. Mike Conley and Rob Dillingham’s lack of defense was becoming detrimental. Therefore, Clark was the next man up and closed the first half. His impactful minutes would then earn him another stint in the second half. Finch has taken a chance on Clark, and he has played rotational minutes in nine consecutive games.

Clark’s stability and translatable role-player skill set have been the antidote the Timberwolves needed off their bench. DiVincenzo, Julius Randle, Anthony Edwards, and Mike Conley have missed time during an injury-riddled month. Clark has made an impact by playing valuable minutes off the bench, garnering Finch’s trust, and giving the Wolves a projectable role player moving forward.

As a prospect, Clark’s offensive impact was his biggest swing skill. He had the defensive pedigree, winning Naismith Defensive Player of the Year in his junior season. That year, Clark posted a defensive box plus-minus of 6.1, second in college basketball behind Dereck Lively II.

However, Clark shot 30.2% from three in college, and his lack of a positional fit as a 6’5” guard appeared to limit his potential. He’s only played 150+ NBA minutes, but he’s starting to eclipse his prior limitations.

The Wolves have plugged Clark into a role similar to the one he had at UCLA. Clark primarily operates out of the corner as a catch-and-shoot (C&S) three-point shooter, attacking closeouts off the dribble. But Clark is building off his corner positioning, occasionally creeping from his corner position to the dunker spot, where he has showcased timely cutting. In doing so, he offers an outlet to ball-handlers and offers useful movement.

Clark would always have to find a way to impact the game away from the ball. Still, his immediate comfortability has given a glimpse at how he can fit into Minnesota’s offensive schematics on a fully healthy roster.

Off the dribble, Clark’s floater touch and simplicity in his drives stand out. He is a straight-line driver with little nuance with his handle. Still, Clark’s quick decision-making against defenders closing out on him on the catch has allowed him to find comfortable opportunities to attack the rim. In the nicest way possible, his offensive game is boring but effective.

In the 9 games he’s played in the rotation, Clark is shooting 9 of 19 on three-point shots, all of which were C&S attempts. It’s a small sample but correlates well with Clark’s play in Iowa this season. In 20 games, he shot 39 of 102 (38.2%) from three. That’s a drastic improvement over his 35 of 116 (30.2%) three-point shooting in his 3 seasons (90 games) at UCLA.

Clark has directly credited his three-point shooting improvements to his time in Des Moines.

“The G-League helped me out a lot, especially offensively,” he said. “That’s what the G-League is for, to develop and hone your skills and give you that confidence.”

Defensively, Clark has been as advertised. He’s a tenacious point-of-attack defender with a relentless motor when guarding the opponent’s best scoring option. He brings an extra flair by sneaking around ball-handlers looking for a poke steal or disruption in transition.

Clark has proven he’s already an impactful individual and team defender, and he still has room to grow. Allowing him to have a defensive impact regardless of the lineup only strengthens the defense when they surround him with other positive defenders like Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

Already, Clark is starting to understand better how to defend in the NBA.

“In college, I used to get away with a lot more,” he said after the Phoenix game. “Y’all probably know even in the NBA, once you are labeled a defender, they allow you to do pretty much whatever. Just learning how, especially when guarding superstars, you gotta get your hands off.”

The Timberwolves still have an open roster spot since they moved on from PJ Dozier on Dec. 28 and didn’t make any moves at the Feb. 6 trade deadline. Given how well Clark has performed in his rotational minutes, giving him a standard NBA contract makes sense.

There have been six mid-season rookie two-way multi-year contract extensions this regular season.

The Timberwolves won’t get the value they got with Naz Reid and Jaylen Nowell’s 4-year contract extensions. Still, locking in Jaylen Clark is vital. They must find a way to keep him in Minnesota on a near-minimum contract that allows more cap flexibility while maintaining a role player under contract into the future.

It has been a small sample size of rotational minutes. Still, any time a two-way player makes an impact in the rotation, you must capitalize on it.