Sixers sign DeAndre Jordan as another backup center option for thin frontcourt
The Sixers have been searching for somebody to fill the role vacated by Andre Drummond, who was a late inclusion in the blockbuster trade with the Brooklyn Nets that brought James Harden to Philly.
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After clearing waivers, veteran center DeAndre Jordan has officially signed with the 76ers, the team announced Thursday night.
The Sixers quickly emerged as a front-runner to land Jordan after the Los Angeles Lakers waived him earlier this week, according to a report by ESPN. He averaged 4.1 points and 5.4 rebounds in 32 games (19 starts) this season.
Jordan’s addition gives the Sixers another backup center option after Andre Drummond was a late inclusion in the blockbuster trade that sent him, Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and two first-round draft picks to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for James Harden and Paul Millsap. Since then, Sixers coach Doc Rivers has been adamant that the Sixers would canvas the buyout market for a replacement.
The 37-year-old Millsap has been the Sixers’ backup center the past four games with mediocre-at-best results, averaging 4.4 points and 2.8 rebounds in 11.2 minutes. Paul Reed and Charles Bassey, who on Thursday was recalled from the G League’s Delaware Blue Coats, are other internal options to fill that role.
The Sixers also signed 7-footer Willie Cauley-Stein to a 10-day contract last week, but he never played meaningful minutes and was released from his deal to make room on the roster for Jordan to sign.
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The 33-year-old Jordan was once one of the NBA’s most athletically gifted big men, most notably as the receiver of a barrage of authoritative alley-oop dunks during the “Lob City” Los Angeles Clippers era. He also led the NBA in field-goal percentage five consecutive seasons from 2012-17, ranked first in the league in rebounding two consecutive seasons from 2013-15 and was an All-Star from 2016-17. But his production has steadily dropped off in recent seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and Lakers.
Jordan’s arrival reunites him with Rivers, who was his coach during his Clippers tenure. Jordan was also briefly a teammate of Sixers forward Tobias Harris while both players were with the Clippers.