NBA trade rumors suggest that Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan could be traded in midseason as the team is said to be preparing to rebuild. Jordan would be the second player in the Clippers’ former Big Three to leave L.A. should he be dealt in the future.
Despite trading leading man Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets last summer, the team had started the season strong, registering a 5-2 record in their first seven games. However, things began to go dim when several of their starters got injured, including Danilo Gallinari, Patrick Beverley, and Paul’s replacement at starting point guard, Milos Teodosic.
With Beverley back, the Clippers still lost to the New York Knicks, 107-85, on Monday night at Madison Square Garden. It was their ninth consecutive defeat, giving them a 5-11 slate. It left the team in third from last place in the West, only a few games ahead of cellar-dwellers Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks.
In a recent episode of ESPN’s SportsNation , basketball analyst Brian Windhorst said it is possible for the Clippers to trade a few of their key players in mid-December if the team still has a losing record by then. Windhorst specifically mentioned Jordan and Beverley as the potential trade candidates.
Journalist LZ Granderson, who was with Windhorst, host Marcellus Wiley, and guest analyst Israel Gutierrez on the show, agreed with Windhorst’s opinion, saying that he “would not be surprised at all if they (Clippers) move DeAndre.”
Granderson acknowledged that, together with Blake Griffin, Jordan is one of the two All-Star players in Doc Rivers’ squad. However, he said that the team cannot rely on Jordan if they need to score points, which is something that the Clippers need right now.
“If you got two All-Stars and one of them is getting doubled, or one of them had an off-night, then hopefully the other one could help you out. But, because of the specialty that he (Jordan) has and the lack of offensive skill set that DeAndre has, he isn’t able to fill in that gap when Blake is having a poor shooting night or is in foul trouble.”
Granderson went on to say that he likes Jordan, but he would assume that if the Clippers do make a move before the February trade deadline, the two-time NBA rebounding leader will be “the one to go.”
Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale listed Jordan as eighth in the top 10 “Available NBA Players with the Most Trade Value This Season.”
Favale said that “switching locales could work wonders for Jordan” to reinvigorate his career. Jordan’s tentativeness on the court has been evident this season, as he has only contested 3.2 shots at the rim per game this season, compared to 7.0 last year. Still, there is no doubt that his intimidating defensive presence can be utilized by several NBA teams that lack in that area of the court.
It remains to be seen whether Jordan will remain a Clipper after the trade deadline. But a rebuild is fast becoming certain for the squad.
[Featured Image by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images]
