It’s happening again: A longtime NBA veteran on the verge of a contract buyout is being linked to the Los Angeles Lakers.
In some instances, it’s a plausible roster-filling maneuver. Take, for example, Rajon Rondo. As soon as the Memphis Grizzlies reportedly bought out his contract, the Lakers were immediately frontrunners.
But it was reasonable. The Lakers have been searching for a third point guard for weeks now, one who can facilitate instead of being a scoring-first option, which would diversify L.A.’s point guard rotation that has Russell Westbrook and Kendrick Nunn craving buckets.
The latest rumor involves DeAndre Jordan, who is working on a buyout with the Brooklyn Nets, to the Lakers. Both Ramona Shelburne of ESPN and Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report have reported it.
Sure, the Lakers would benefit from adding another body in the frontcourt since only Anthony Davis and Dwight Howard are locks, while Marc Gasol’s status continues to teeter.
But if the Lakers wanted to add a center, the best route is to find someone who offers more versatility than what’s already at your disposal. Davis is the All-Star do-it-all guy you can’t replace. Gasol brings the interior shot-altering, quick passing and floor spacing. Howard presents the interior shot-altering, rebounding and rim-running presence.
Looking at Jordan, who recently turned 33, he doesn’t introduce anything fresh to the table. He’s past his athletic prime from the “Lob City” days with the L.A. Clippers and fell out of Brooklyn’s rotation last season.
Jordan brings the interior defensive presence and rebounding, but he can’t stretch the floor at all, he’s not someone you want dribbling and he’ll get exposed when defending the perimeter, especially against smaller, shiftier opponents.
Now, Jordan’s field goal percentage of 76.3% on 4.4 attempts isn’t something to disregard, because it stood out as one of the best rates last season. But he also played alongside three of the greatest offensive players of all time in Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving, so those open looks manifested frequently.
Jordan had his moments with Brooklyn because they didn’t have a big like Davis sharing the floor with another non-spacing center. The only way Jordan would work in L.A. is if he’s the only big man on the court with four other shooters around him. Again, Howard already fulfills that role.
Jordan can be a serviceable big for almost any team despite being an old-school center with little upside at this stage of his career. But his arsenal is redundant on this roster.
Signing a center is a solid option for L.A., but there are other veterans available like Ersan Ilyasova, Aron Baynes and DeMarcus Cousins, to name a few, who would expand the lineup possibilities for Frank Vogel.