Albeit far from his prime, the Los Angeles Lakers expect that DeAndre Jordan’s playoff experience comes in handily to help their championship aspirations. They got it in a big discount after the Brooklyn Nets bought out the remainder of his contract.
Jordan will fight for minutes with another veteran in Dwight Howard. But in reality, it’s more likely that they’ll have a bit of a timeshare at the center position, given that both are pretty similar players at this point in their careers.
Moreover, Jordan opened up on multiple subjects during his introductory press conference, including the rivalry between Lakers and Clippers, his new role, and teaming up with LeBron James and Russell Westbrook.
DeAndre Jordan Says Los Angeles Is A Lakers Town
Jordan’s career in the league started off in Los Angeles but with the Clippers. He was their defensive anchor for a decade and starred during the “Lob City” era. Even so, he always knew that Los Angeles was a Lakers town:
“I think I was treated pretty fairly and pretty good when I was a Clipper for 10 years,” Jordan told the media. “But obviously, this is a big sports town and a lot of the fans are Lakers fans. Even when I was with the Clippers, we understood that. But, I had great years when I was with the Clippers and that franchise was amazing to me and I appreciate the time that I was there, for sure.”
Jordan Opens Up On Playing With LeBron James And Russell Westbrook
Jordan was pretty hyped about the possibility of playing with superstars like LeBron James and Russell Westbrook. He knows that he’ll get plenty of wide-open dunks with those two running the offense:
(Transcript via ClutchPoints)
“For me, it’s great. Those guys being able to have such speed and strength, being able to get downhill so quickly — it puts a lot of pressure on defenses. When you’re a big playing in that dunker area you find where you’ll be open — whether it’s a shovel pass, whether its a lob — and those guys are so great at finding the open man and making the defenses pay for coverages and schemes that they may come up with.
“I just need to be ready to catch a basketball or catch a lob or screen in for a shooter. But, when you have that many threats on one team, I think that it’s going to be very beneficial to us.”
There are still serious concerns regarding the Lakers’ ability to compete in the playoffs, not because of their talent but due to their age. Even so, this team looks like a clear-cut favorite, at least on paper.
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