Jordan Clarkson was attending a Carlos Alcaraz match at Wimbledon when his agent, Rich Paul, called with an important question.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere you wanna go?\u201d Paul asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI said, \u2018I wanna come to New York,\u2019\u201d Clarkson recalled Saturday night.<\/p>\n
Paul then reached out to the Knicks to relay Clarkson\u2019s interest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt all happened in two minutes,\u201d Clarkson said. \u201cThen I was a Knick.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clarkson, 33, revealed this exchange Saturday night during a live taping of \u201cThe Roommates\u201d podcast hosted by his new teammates, Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The interview, which took place in front of hundreds of rain-soaked Knicks fans at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park, represented Clarkson\u2019s first public comments since joining the Knicks in July on a minimum contract<\/a>.<\/p>\n Jordan Clarkson reacts during the Jazz\u2019s March 17 game. Getty Images<\/p>\n So why did he pick New York after negotiating a buyout from the Jazz?<\/p>\n \u201cThe arena [MSG], honestly,\u201d Clarkson said. \u201cFeeling the energy from the fans. Knowing they\u2019re going to let you have it if you\u2019re playing like s\u2013t. But when you\u2019re playing great, it\u2019s all love. At the end of the day, I just want to feel the energy. Get to play with y\u2019all [Brunson and Hart].<\/p>\n After the Central Park crowd chanted Clarkson\u2019s name, Hart poked fun at the lack of diversity in Salt Lake City.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe Garden\u2019s going to be great vibes,\u201d Hart said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be different from Utah. \u2026 We got more flavor to our crowd brother, don\u2019t worry about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Later in the interview, Brunson said he discussed teaming up with Clarkson well before it happened.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to say when,\u201d the Knicks captain said, \u201cbut me and Jordan talked about this a while ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Jordan Clarkson drives with the ball during the Jazz\u2019s March 23 game. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n With 11 years logged in the NBA, Clarkson is now the oldest and most experienced player in the Knicks rotation.\u00a0<\/p>\n He\u2019s expected to come off the bench as a microwave scorer, a role that earned him Sixth Man of the Year honors in 2021 with the Jazz.<\/p>\n This version of Clarkson is a little slower and somewhat unknown after he played only 36 games last season for the tanking Jazz.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n But he seems content with falling in line.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cY\u2019all been doing great things over here,\u201d Clarkson said of the Knicks, who have NBA Finals aspirations after advancing last season to the conference finals. \u201cI just want to come in here and enhance what y\u2019all got going on.\u201d<\/p>\n Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele<\/a> were the Knicks\u2019 top free agent signings, but their biggest offseason moves \u2014 firing Tom Thibodeau<\/a> and hiring MIke Brown<\/a> \u2014 weren\u2019t mentioned during Saturday\u2019s two-hour live show.<\/p>\n Jordan Clarkson looks to move the ball during the Jazz\u2019s March 14 game. Getty Images<\/p>\n The guests were Clarkson, Jamal Crawford, Eli Manning and Ben Stiller.<\/p>\n