Report: Lakers, Jordan Clarkson Agree to 4-Year, $50 Million Deal

According to Shams Charania of the Vertical at Yahoo! Sports, the Los Angeles and Jordan Clarkson reached an agreement on a four-year, $50 million deal that would bring the dynamic guard back to LA.

Jordan Clarkson has reached agreement on a four-year, $50M deal to return to the Los Angeles Lakers, league sources tell The Vertical. — Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2016

Clarkson was a restricted free agent, and the team confirmed that it had made a qualifying offer on the 24-year-old out of Missouri on Thursday. Early Friday morning, news leaked that Clarkson and the team had agreed terms, and multiple sources confirmed the report.

Clarkson's $50 million contract comes on the back of a great deal of hard work and improvement during his two seasons in the NBA. Originally, LA bought the no. 46 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft from the Washington Wizards for cash and instructed the Wizards to draft Clarkson. The second-round pick found his rhythm during the second half of his rookie season and even made his way onto the All-Rookie First Team.

In his second season, Clarkson improved and proved to be the Lakers' most consistent player and only trailed Kobe Bryant in scoring for the season. In his sophomore season, Clarkson averaged 15.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game, primarily playing as an off-ball guard.

Earlier in the night, the Lakers had reportedly agreed terms with Timofey Mozgov at center, so with Clarkson, the roster is now expected to be up to eight players. Once the Lakers sign the no. 2 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, Brandon Ingram, that should push LA to nine filled roster spots.

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Another two roster spots could be taken up by Marcelo Huertas and Tarik Black, as the Lakers confirmed qualifying offers for both players on Thursday, making the duo restricted free agents.

JJJJJJJCCCCCC�� @JClark5on — D'Angelo Russell (@Dloading) July 1, 2016

After a great deal of fan frustrations on social media in the face of Mozgov's reported $64 million contract, Clarkson's $50 million deal was met with unbridled joy from fans and teammates alike.