The Brooklyn Nets are continuing their busy offseason by moving veteran big man DeAndre Jordan. Acquired in the same offseason that the team managed to secure the signing of Kyrie Irving and the sign-and-trade of Kevin Durant, Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Nets have decided to send Jordan to the Detroit Pistons in a move that will save the team a ton of money.
Jordan will be joined by a major chunk of change and a number of future second-round picks, but he may be headed for the buyout market. In exchange, Brooklyn will bring in big man Jahlil Okafor, young forward Sekou Doumbouya, and $47 million in savings between the salary cap and the luxury tax.
ESPN Sources: Brooklyn is trading C DeAndre Jordan, four future-second round picks and $5.78M to Detroit for Jahlil Okafor and Sekou Doumbouya. Pistons plan to work through a buyout on two-years, $20M owed Jordan; Nets will save $47M in salary and tax on deal.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 3, 2021
According to Wojnarowski, the Lakers are high on the list of favorites to acquire Jordan’s services.
Again, Pistons plan is to negotiate a contract buyout with the DeAndre Jordan and allow him to become a free agent, sources tell ESPN. In that scenario, the Lakers will be a serious contender, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/WjbY2ch41h
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 3, 2021
Whether or not they keep Okafor and Doumbouya around remains to be seen, but considering how much wheeling and dealing Brooklyn has done this offseason in an attempt to position itself as the favorites to win an NBA championship this year, moving Jordan’s deal likely isn’t a surprise, especially considering he did not play in the postseason as the team decided to embrace small ball. At the very least, Okafor is a reliable offensive big man option off the bench, while Doumbouya is 20 and has shown flashes in each of his first two NBA campaigns.
