DeAndre Jordan possibly becoming a Los Angeles Laker just moved one step closer.
Despite initial talks of the Brooklyn Nets buying out Jordan’s contract, they instead shipped him, four second-round picks and $5.78 million in cash to the Detroit Pistons for Sekou Doumbouya and Jahlil Okafor.
Though the fit is clunky, the Lakers have been rumored to be a top suitor for the 33-year-old center.
With Marc Gasol’s status for the upcoming season unclear, the Lakers have been browsing the market for a possible replacement in case the Spaniard opts to not return.
Now that Jordan is with the Pistons, Detroit’s plan is to work on a buyout for the remaining two years, $20 million on his deal. When that’s finalized, the Lakers will be in the mix, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
Again, Pistons plan is to negotiate a contract buyout with the DeAndre Jordan and allow him to become a free agent, sources tell ESPN. In that scenario, the Lakers will be a serious contender, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/WjbY2ch41h
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 3, 2021
Despite finishing the season with a career-high field-goal percentage of 76.3%, his skill set is redundant to that of Dwight Howard, who returned to L.A. earlier in the summer.
It would be more beneficial for L.A. to find someone who can space the floor as Gasol did last season, such as DeMarcus Cousins or Ersan Ilyasova, but that doesn’t seem like a possibility at this point.
