Blake Griffin's DeAndre Jordan Description Is Exactly Why Pelicans Must Retain Him

One of the only free agency decisions the New Orleans Pelicans have to make this summer will be regarding DeAndre Jordan. The 37-year-old center will be a free agent in the offseason, and even though he played a very small on-court role for the Pelicans last season, it behooves New Orleans to bring him back for another season.

No one could have advocated for DJ better than his former teammate, Blake Griffin. In his appearance on the New Heights podcast, Griffin explained what makes Jordan special as a teammate and a mentor.

The former Clippers star called Jordan "a connector of people", who always steps up for his teammates on and off the court. He added that the All-Star center was always like that, even earlier in his career, and has now reached another level as a vet.

Off the court, he’s one of those people that brings people together. You know what I mean? He keeps everything light. He has incredible empathy and EQ. His emotional awareness is off the charts, where he sees somebody maybe not having their best day or best game, and he’ll go put his arm around them because he’s built that relationship with each guy on the team.Blake Griffin on DeAndre Jordan

Griffin probably knows Jordan as a basketball player and a teammate better than anyone in the NBA. He is the teammate that Jordan has played the most games with, suiting up for 563 total games together. In their eight-and-a-half seasons together in LA, Griffin and Jordan shared the frontcourt and built Lob City next to Chris Paul. Both players earned All-Star and All-NBA nods during their tenure with the Clippers.

At this stage of Jordan's career, there are obviously no longer alley-oops, rim-rattling dunks, or elite rim protection. He is not replicating Lob City or making an All-Star team. Yet, he continues to rack up accolades.

In his only season in New Orleans, Jordan won the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year award, given to the player "deemed the best teammate, based on selfless play, leadership on and off the court as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment to the team."

The veteran center only played in 12 games and averaged 16.6 minutes with the Pelicans. He still made an impact on the boards and provided physicality to a team that lacked it whenever he saw some action.

Where he made a difference the most, however, was his leadership. He was consistently seen on the sidelines speaking to and coaching up the young players. Jordan, having his arms around rookie Derik Queen on the bench and during timeouts, was a common scene in the Pelicans' season.

As the 15th-man on the roster, the Pelicans could do much worse than Jordan. Another season in a mentorship role before potentially switching to a position in the coaching staff could be a beneficial situation for both the Pelicans and Jordan.