DeAndre Jordan might not be anywhere close to the player he once was for the Los Angeles Clippers, for whom he was an all-star and a defensive anchor, but his locker room presence is still clearly valued a lot around the league. That was evident by the Denver Nuggets signing him up on a 1-year deal in the first couple of weeks of this free agency period despite a very rough 2021-22 season during which Charles Barkley said he can't play in today's NBA anymore.
Regardless of that criticism, Jordan will be tasked with backing up the reigning 2-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, but when asked about his role for the upcoming season during an interview with the Denver Post, Jordan joked that Michael Malone told him he would be starting over the Serbian.
via Denver Post:
“Well, he told me that I’m gonna come in and start over Nikola (Jokic),"
Jokes aside, he went on to add that he is going to help the team in whichever way he can in his bench role.
“Obviously, everybody knows that Nikola is the head of the snake, so with that, my role being coming off the bench, helping our second unit with pace, screens and getting guys open, getting guys better shots and also finishing everything that I can in transition, offensive rebounds, controlling the glass for our unit, also being a defensive presence for however long I’m out there”
The Nuggets had DeMarcus Cousins backing up Jokic last season, and he did a good enough job at that, but reports indicate that they were concerned about his health which is why they opted for Jordan.
We'll soon find out if that was the right call as the Nuggets look towards the upcoming season with the hope that their stars can stay healthy this time around. Jamal Murray missed the whole of last season with injury while Michael Porter Jr. played just 9 games, and if the two can be anywhere near their best in 2022-23, then the Nuggets will be a big threat in the Western Conference once again.
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