At 17-19, the Los Angeles Lakers have looked very much their age this year. Now one of their veterans may be in danger of losing his roster spot.
In an episode this week of “The Hoop Collective,” Brian Windhorst said that the Lakers could potentially release struggling center DeAndre Jordan.
“DeAndre Jordan is playing very poorly for them, and basically LeBron [James] is playing a lot of minutes at center right now,” said Windhorst. “I don’t think [James] is starting at center but the second half on Christmas they started him at center … or they played Carmelo [Anthony] for a few minutes at center, which was laughable.
“It could be a situation where the Lakers are … going to cut DeAndre Jordan to keep a player, possibly, if Stanley Johnson works out or something like that,” Windhorst went on.
Windhorst also noted the Lakers have a full roster and are “cost-sensitive.”
The 33-year-old Jordan only made seven appearances in December for the Lakers, largely due to player shortages from health and safety protocols. When Jordan has seen the floor, it has been pretty ugly. He is averaging just 4.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game on the year and has shown very little energy on either end of the court. Jordan also had a heated moment with Lakers coach Frank Vogel after getting benched last month (video here).
As Windhorst noted, the Lakers have often been going small with James or Anthony at the 5 thanks to the emergence of the lengthy forward Johnson, who is on a ten-day contract. When they have gone with a traditional center, Dwight Howard, not Jordan, has been the preferred option. The Lakers only gave Jordan a one-year, $2.6 million contract, so they might be able to cut their losses here with minimal damage.
H/T Heavy
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