After facilitating a deal that sent head coach Doc Rivers’ son Austin Rivers to the Washington Wizards for center Marcin Gortat, the Clippers may be preparing for another deal this summer in DeAndre Jordan.
Jordan has until Friday to opt into the final year of his contract, but according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Gortat gives the Clippers a serviceable big in the case of a Jordan deal.
Following from ESPN,
Gortat, who also took to Instagram to say goodbye to Washington, gives the Clippers a starting-level center should DeAndre Jordan opt out of his $24.1 million contract before Friday’s deadline. Even if Jordan opts in to the deal, the Clippers and Jordan would work together to find a trade out of Los Angeles, preferably well before the February trade deadline.
Marc Stein of the New York Times reported on Tuesday that Jordan was “weighing” the option of opting into his contract as opposed to entering the free agent market. According to Stein, choosing to opt in would allow the Clippers to work a trade with the Dallas Mavericks, who are reportedly interested in acquiring the 29-year-old Jordan.
With the arrival of Jerry West has come a rash of moves signaling a new direction for the Clippers. Rivers was stripped of his front office role allowing him to focus solely on coaching, a move that eventually led to Rivers inking a contract extension.
Before last year’s trade deadline, the front office traded longtime Clipper and All-Star Blake Griffin to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic, and Avery Bradley.
Jordan, in his tenure as a Clipper, has been voted to three All-NBA teams and two All-Defense teams. Last season Jordan averaged 12 points, 15.2 rebounds, and 64 percent of his shots from the field.
