After agreeing to a buyout with the Detroit Pistons this summer, DeAndre Jordan said coming to Los Angeles was an easy choice.
Marc Gasol's Laker future was looking increasingly murky as each day passed, so this lead LA to an unexpected name in Jordan. Jordan spend much of his career in the other LA uniform, but the Lakers had everything he was hoping for.
When the New Jersey Nets shipped Jordan to Detroit, mostly to save some cost, the rumors of Jordan coming to the Lakers were already spreading. In an interview with Spectrum Sportsnet, Jordan said the choice was easy.
“Man, this was not a very tough decision. You always want to be in a place where you’re wanted, and a place where you have a chance to compete and contend for something. That’s a team goal, and obviously I was here playing my first 10 years of professional basketball, and so that was a good experience for me, and just to be able to be back around my family and an organization that’s ready to compete for another title is exciting for me.”
An easy choice to be sure, but it was clearly the best choice for Jordan in terms of playing time. His playing time in Brooklyn had been squeezed down to a small amount, averaging 21 minutes per game. Other teams were not likely to give him more playing time. In those small minutes however, he did manage to average 7.5 rebounds and a 1.1 blocks, so while Jordan's best NBA days are behind him, there may be a little fuel left in the tank.
This isn't the Lakers first time using the 'big man reclamation project.' In the shortened 2020 bubble season, Dwight Howard wasn't a big name on the market, but the Lakers scooped him up. In the championship run, Howard played some of his best basketball. the Lakers and Laker fans hope this can be repeated with Jordan.
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