Add DeAndre Jordan to the list of Clippers players whose future in Los Angeles is uncertain.
The Clippers are gauging interest in a potential trade involving Jordan and have spoken to several teams “in an exploratory fashion” about dealing the veteran big man, ESPN’s Chris Haynes reported Tuesday, citing league sources.
The Phoenix Suns are among those teams, as the Clips reportedly proposed trading Jordan to Phoenix in exchange for center Tyson Chandler and the Suns’ No. 4 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. Phoenix “balked” at that offer, though, per Haynes.
Jordan has spent all nine of his NBA seasons in L.A., earning first-team All-NBA honors in 2016 and an All-Star nod in 2017. The 28-year-old has two years and $46 million remaining on his contract, but the Clippers face some important decisions this offseason, most notably involving pending free agents Chris Paul and Blake Griffin.
If Griffin departs in free agency next month — the Boston Celtics are among his reported suitors — that would signal an end to L.A.’s current core, and NBA executives believe the trade market around Jordan would “intensify” at that point, according to Haynes. The Clippers also just hired a new executive in Jerry West, who could be active this summer in plotting his new team’s future.
Thumbnail photo via Chris Nicoll/USA TODAY Sports Images
