The Nets are exploring the feasibility of signing free agent center DeAndre Jordan this summer, league sources tell Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link).
As Stein explains, Jordan is good friends with Kevin Durant, one of Brooklyn’s top free agent targets, and the Nets would like to add Jordan in the hopes that it would help entice Durant to Brooklyn along with Kyrie Irving.
If the Nets were to sign Durant and Irving to maximum-salary contracts, it would almost certainly leave the club with only the room exception available for free agents. That exception is projected to be worth $4.76MM, and it’s not clear if that will be enough to sign Jordan, who earned nearly $23MM last season.
The Nets aren’t the only ones who believe that the presence of Jordan might be attractive to Durant — their cross-town rivals, the Knicks, acquired Jordan in their Kristaps Porzingis blockbuster in February and didn’t buy out Jordan along with Enes Kanter and Wesley Matthews, viewing the veteran big man as a potential teammate for KD in 2019/20. New York has continued to show interest in re-signing Jordan, depending on how the team’s offseason plays out, per Stein (Twitter link).
While he’s not the perennial Defensive Player of the Year contender he once was, Jordan has appeal beyond his friendship with Durant. As Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News observes (via Twitter), Brooklyn didn’t have the big bodies to match up inside with the likes of Joel Embiid last season and got crushed by Philadelphia’s size and physicality in the playoffs. Acquiring a center like Jordan would help address that issue.
Jarrett Allen: “WTF!!!”
My initial thought was the same, but Jordan is probably a bench piece at this point in his career. He would give them size when needed, plus Allen averaged under 30 MPG. Jordan wouldn’t be a bad backup to have log 20 MPG or so.
Yes, he would take Ed Davis’s spot. I love having Ed on the team, but he’s not going to take a team friendly deal to stay on the Nets if they’re signing 2 max players. DeAndre is more inclined to take the David West special than Ed would be.
If Jordan is such good friends with Durant, then why didn’t Durant sign with the Clips three years ago instead of the Warriors. The Clips needed Durant more, and Durant wouldn’t have had to hear people say that he’s riding the coattails of a team that was already a champion.
This narrative about NBA players wanting to play with their friends is so overrated. Yes, LeBron and Wade were friends in 2010, but outside of that, it doesn’t happen that much.
Clippers had no cap space?
lol brooklyn thinks jordan would consider their back-up role.. what a waist of internet space
Where would he start on any contender?
Uh, golden State. Sign the exception with the warriors.
Hmmm… I watched Jordan play a bunch last year… he still looks like the same player to me. I think the game changes have limited his minutes, he can’t shoot, but I’m not sure he’s declined all that much. I’d still love to have him.
okay… but isn’t that tampering? just sayin
I mean it worked for the White Sox when they went after Machado and traded for his brother in law and added one of his friends…Oh wait…
Im not totally sure why New Jersey wants to mess with what they have in such a dramatic fashion… Irving, Durant, Jordan… That team has gelled really well without those guys. They are fun and exciting. I’d leave it be, sign Russell, not that cancer Kyrie, and take my shot at Butler and/or Harris.
They will always be New Jersey to me….
Unless I think ahead, I still look for New Jersey initially when I want the Nets’ team page.
Oh, Dinwiddie is already recruiting Irving. It would be embarrassing if they went with Russell now! Irving is not a cancer, just an off-by-himself oddball, no James, he knows that now. He was essentially surrounded by enemies.
I didn’t even notice your NJ…
Kyrie wasn’t the problem, Celtics became a broken organization. The puzzle just doesn’t fit together abtmore in Boston.
They’d be better off staying away from Kyrie and sign Durant to play alongside Russell and use the remaining space to sign a younger vet.
KD would prefer to play with Kyrie most likely.
DRuss has a bad reputation after the Nick Young situation.
Kyrie and DRuss are debatable on skill tho. Russ gives you a little more on defense and effort. Kyrie a little more clutch/confident in the playoffs
DeAndre Jordan is in the same mold as WCS. Athletic freaks of nature, but can’t cannot play a lick of defense.
I don’t think he can get more then 12 mil out there but I could be wrong … he would/could work out for a lot of teams the dude still grabs boards and can catch alley opps.
He can get that to play on the Bulls, or he can take a MLE to play for a contender.. most likely off bench.
He’s more of a 20 min guy at this point. But still important.
If not Jordan, some big big… the Nets have to find an anti-Embiid like Toronto did. Rookie Claxton is not that and needs time to be dangerous in his own way.
dumb, they need a stetch 4 not this
Dudley & Carroll FAs, seven 3s pg between them, might be leaving. Dudley goes to a rival if they don’t keep him. They need his attitude; part of the Nets culture that looks ready to beat out the Knicks for Irving at least. No offense but KI should be the party adjusting more than the team.