After finalizing the purchase of the contract with the Detroit Pistons, three-time All-Star center DeAndre Jordan intends to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers, sources told ESPN.
Detroit acquired Jordan, four second-round picks and $ 5.78 million in a deal with Brooklyn on Friday with the intention of buying the remaining two years and $ 20 million in Jordan’s contract, sources told ESPN.
Once the purchase agreement is signed, Jordan will have to clear the waivers before he becomes a free agent and sign with the Lakers. His contract terms make it virtually impossible for Jordan to be claimed by a team.
The Nets received Jahlil Okafor and Sekou Doumbouya in the deal with Detroit, sources said. They will send the Pistons their second-round picks 2022 and 2027 along with the second most favorable round of 2024 between the Washington Wizards and Memphis Grizzlies and the second most favorable round of 2025 between the Wizards and Golden State Warriors, sources said .
Trading Jordan’s contract instead of buying it offers a short-term financial reduction for Nets, but also in the future, with the repeating tax sanction from 2023 onwards.
Brooklyn had the option to waive and stretch the $ 19.7 million the Jordan deal had to pay for five seasons; that would have represented a $ 3.9 million limit that would have lingered in the team’s books from 2021 to 2025. The move could have saved the Nets money on their luxury tax bill over the next two years, but it would have cost them $ 20 million extra 2023-24, and could have reached $ 50 million in 2024-25 and 2025-26.
It is not immediately clear whether the Nets will keep Okafor or Doumbouya or decide to give them up, sources said. It is expected to be determined in the coming days and weeks. Networks plan to lay off Alize Johnson, sources said.
Jordan will return to Los Angeles, where he spent the first ten years of his career as a member of the Clippers. The Lakers have signed several veteran players to their bench, including eighth All-Star center Dwight Howard, and still have three-time All-Star Marc Gasol on the roster.
Gasol arrived in Los Angeles with a championship pedigree from his time in Toronto and generic lines linking him to the Lakers after his brother, Pau, teamed up with Kobe Bryant to win two titles with the franchise. Gasol was originally named the starting center after signing a two-year contract worth slightly above the veteran’s minimum, but struggled to find his shot at first, shooting only 40.3% of the field before the All-Star break.
While Marc Gasol was taken to the Lakers, in part, for his ability to provide a secondary player in the center position, Jordan brings a similar skill to JaVale McGee. Before being changed, McGee teamed up with Dwight Howard to flank Anthony Davis on the front track as a great edge guard during the Los Angeles championship race in the Orlando, Florida bubble.
Jordan was part of a free agent signing class with Brooklyn that included Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in 2019. Initially, Jordan alternated at the starting center with Jarrett Allen, who was eventually traded to Cleveland as part of the four-team deal reached by NBA All-NBA goalie James Harden. Once the Nets acquired Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge, Jordan’s role dwindled.
Jordan averaged 7.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in 57 games played last season in Brooklyn.
ESPN’s Malika Andrews, Bobby Marks and Dave McMenamin contributed to this report.