The Lakers have had to get a lot of buy-in from guys this year when assembling their roster. Going with experienced guys that previously played under different roster constructions, Rob Pelinka and Frank Vogel have leaned on veterans to coach guys through the changes.
DeAndre Jordan is certainly no stranger to that. At age 33, Jordan has had to adjust to a role that he has not been accustomed to throughout his NBA career. Jordan is averaging just over 14 minutes per game with the Lakers, a big step down from his time with the Nets, Knicks, Mavericks, and Clippers.
But Jordan has also given out some advice to other veterans of the game about changing roles. That includes the Nets' Blake Griffin, who reportedly reached out to the Lakers big man after seeing more of the bench lately.
I have seen [and] have had great examples. DeAndre last year, he is a guy that I talked to that reached out. A lot of the guys from last year reached out. He did a really great job with it. I told him that. That is how I am going to try to do it as well. Just be a professional and do exactly what you are supposed to do. It may sound like not good advice, but in this situation, everybody always needs to hear the right thing.
Griffin has seen his time dip down to just 9 minutes in his most recent game and being removed from Steve Nash's rotations. Jordan might not have the talent that he once did, but that's the kind of mentality that the Lakers need to survive this storm.
He's a good guy to have around.
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