DeAndre Jordan reportedly losing starting spot to Dwight Howard

DeAndre Jordan appears to be on his way to getting demoted by the Los Angeles Lakers.

Lakers head coach Frank Vogel told reporters this week that Dwight Howard will start for the team Friday against the L.A. Clippers. Vogel also said that the team will only use one center moving forward, per Harrison Faigen of Silver Screen and Roll.

This certainly seems to be bad news for the former All-Star Jordan, who had been the Lakers’ starting center for the majority of the season to this point. But Jordan has only averaged 4.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in that time. He also got pulled by Vogel in the first quarter of Tuesday’s win over Sacramento, prompting a heated exchange between the two (video here).

Howard has an advantage over the first-year Laker Jordan in that he already knows Vogel’s system, having been on the Lakers’ 2020 championship team. The Lakers can also downsize with Anthony Davis at the 5 when Howard sits. That could leave Jordan as the odd man out of the Lakers’ pageant.