I’m sure it wasn’t the ending DeAndre Jordan envisioned when he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, but the big man’s time with the Lake Show is coming to an end. Shams Charania tweeted that the Lakers are planning on waiving Jordan to sign DJ Augustin to back up Russell Westbrook.
The Los Angeles Lakers intend to waive DeAndre Jordan and sign free agent guard DJ Augustin, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Lakers are bringing in a veteran, accomplished shooting PG to back up Russell Westbrook.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 1, 2022
It didn’t take long for teams to show interest in the three-time All-NBA center. Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed that the Philadelphia 76ers would aggressively pursue Jordan, either putting in a waiver claim or signing him as a free agent should he clear waivers.
The 76ers have been in the market for a backup center and will be aggressive in pursuit of DeAndre Jordan ? either placing a waiver claim or working to sign him as a free agent should he clear waivers, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 1, 2022
It’s been a steady decline for Jordan over the past few years. The 33-year-old’s scoring average has decreased in each of the previous five seasons, bottoming out with a 4.1 average with the Lakers in 32 games. Nevertheless, Jordan showed that he’s still a solid defensive contributor, establishing a 0.7 Defensive Box Plus/Minus and 0.2 Value Over Replacement Player, per Basketball-Reference.
As noted by Woj, Jordan would be used as a depth center option for the Sixers.
The 76ers remain high on the NBA title futures board at FanDuel Sportsbook, listed with the fifth-best odds at +700.
