Will DeAndre Jordan be traded to the Portland Trail Blazers?
By Brad Wier
Los Angeles Clippers’ Superstar Center DeAndre Jordan has been linked in trade rumors all season. The Portland Trail Blazers have most recently been linked to the big man.
The NBA trade deadline is rapidly approaching and the rumor mill has been running rampant. The first major trade already went down when ESPN reporter Adrian Wojnarowski dropped one of his infamous ‘Woj bombs’ this past Monday that Blake Griffin was traded to the Detroit Pistons. After that trade, it is assumed that DeAndre Jordan will be moved by Thursday’s trade deadline.
Teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Milwaukee Bucks were linked to Jordan in rumors earlier in the season. Most recently the Portland Trail Blazers trade rumors have been picking up steam.
Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times reported that the Trail Blazers have engaged in trade talks with the LA Clippers around Jordan. If the Trail Blazers were to add Jordan to their team, they would form a lethal big-3. A starting lineup with Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum, and DeAndre Jordan could wreak havoc in the playoffs.
The major obstacle in this trade, however, is that DeAndre Jordan could opt-out of his contract at the end of the season and become an unrestricted free agent. He has a player option worth $24.1 million and any team trading for him would want to make sure he doesn’t opt out.
The Trail Blazers have been solid at the center position with the likes of Jusuf Nurkic, Meyers Leonard, and Zach Collins. None of those players come close to matching the impact that a player of DeAndre Jordan’s caliber could.
Jordan is a defensive anchor that automatically improves any team on the defensive side of the ball. His obvious glaring weakness is his free throws, but those have improved this season.
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What exactly Portland would trade to acquire Jordan is yet to be determined. The Clippers want to get younger, acquire assets, and not be tied down by any long-term salaries. Portland has a plethora of large contracts that could be used to match Jordan’s salary, and if they threw in a first round pick, the Clippers just might be inclined to trade Jordan up north.