As the Los Angeles Clippers usher in a new era without being led by point guard Chris Paul, an increased responsibility will fall on the talent frontcourt pair of Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. This will be a bigger learning curve for Jordan than Griffin. Though they’re both dominant interior presences, Griffin is used to shouldering some of the offensive load. Jordan isn’t.
Now without Paul running the show and the departure of perimeter scorers such as J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford, Jordan will have to become more involved on the offensive end than ever before. How Jordan will take the increased scoring responsibility remains to be seen but there had already been rumblings about the Clips possibly trading their sky walking center earlier in the summer.
Even though the Clippers denied testing the market for Jordan, they did listen to some offers around draft time though they never fully shopped him according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe:
The Clips finally listened when suitors called on Jordan around the draft, according to sources across the league. They did not shop him. They conducted some due diligence.
Just months ago, Clips VP Lawrence Frank went so far as to call DeAndre Jordan a franchise ‘cornerstone’ moving forward. With how the roster is assembled, Frank is being completely honest in his evaluation of DJ. What Griffin has talent-wise on the offensive end of the court doesn’t always translate to the other side and Jordan has been the one holding down the Clippers paint for years now and that doesn’t seem likely to change.
With an extension looming in the future for DeAndre Jordan, expect him to remain in LA if the franchise continues to put utmost importance towards keeping their star-studded big man duo intact.
