NBA Trade Rumors: 5 possible trade destinations for DeAndre Jordan
By Morgan Dunn
The injury to Blake Griffin could serve as a catalyst for a DeAndre Jordan trade.
The Los Angeles Clippers announced Tuesday that forward Blake Griffin has a sprained MCL in his left knee and could miss up to two months of action. This injury will almost certainly add to the growing speculation that the team will look to move center DeAndre Jordan via trade. The Clippers had already lost starting point guard Patrick Beverley for the season prior to the Griffin injury and are off to a disappointing 8-11 start to the 2017-18 campaign.
Jordan is in the third year of a four-year deal that will pay him north of $22 million this season and more than $24 million next year. The hefty salary makes the center a bit of a challenge to trade, but there are teams in the market for a defensive-minded big with Jordan’s track record. The Clippers would likely seek young talent in return, as a full-scale rebuild could be on the very near horizon for this franchise.
Here are five possible trade destinations for Jordan:
5. Washington Wizards
The Wizards like to fancy themselves as one of the elite teams in the Eastern Conference, and Washington guard Bradley Beal even suggested that the Cleveland Cavaliers intentionally avoided playing them in the second round of the 2017 Eastern Conference Playoffs. However, the Wizards are not a part of the top tier of the conference as the team is presently constructed. The organization may need to take a risk in an attempt to catapult themselves into the Eastern Conference Championship conversation, and Jordan could be that risk.
Jordan himself is not much of a risk, but giving up a player like Otto Porter certainly is. The 24-year-old forward has shown considerable promise over the last two seasons, enough to earn an expensive contract from the Wizards this past summer. Porter is just the type of player that Los Angeles would want in return for Jordan, despite him no longer being on his rookie contract.
A simple Jordan-for-Porter swap would work financially, but the Wizards can’t play Jordan alongside current starting center Marcin Gortat. The following deal would also send Gortat to Los Angeles while bringing in two bench players on short-term contracts to Washington:
The major hangup for this deal would be that Porter, signed in the offseason, is not eligible to be traded until January. It’s unclear if the Clippers are willing to be, or can afford to be, that patient in making a trade. It seems unlikely, which is why this option comes it at No. 5 here on this list. There are better and likelier destinations for Jordan to land.