Trail Blazers, DeAndre Jordan Connected Ahead of NBA Trade Deadline

Chatter surrounding the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan isn’t dying down with the NBA Trade Deadline less than a week away. The initial rumor, reported by Marc Stein of the New York Times, 10 days ago, linked the Blazers and Jordan together for the first time this trade season. Fuel was added today by Brian Windhorst on ESPN’s The Hoop Collective podcast (around the 37-minute mark). When asked about Jordan’s future, Windhorst answered in striking fashion.

What does your gut tell you DeAndre Jordan is Thursday after the deadline? Where is DeAndre Jordan?

“I think he’s either in L.A. or Portland and I think he really ought to seriously consider picking up his option.”

However, Windhorst prefaced his prediction by describing Jordan’s unfavorable deal:

“DeAndre, you know, he’s over $20 million, it’s a much more complicated trade. So, I would say—right now, everybody wants a first-round pick. ‘Oh yeah, I want a first-round pick for Lou Williams; I want a first-round pick for Avery Bradley; I want a first-round pick for Tyreke Evans.”

Mitch Lawrence of Sporting News also weighed in on the DeAndre Jordan Sweepstakes Friday, with his sources mentioning Portland reaching out to the Clippers:

”Milwaukee, in win-now mode, and Cleveland, always looking to make moves at the deadline to keep LeBron James happy, remain the two favorites, sources say. Sources say Miami, Portland and Orlando recently made inquiries about Jordan as well.”

While it’s not clear if he’s referencing the previous contact reported by Stein or new contact, it is clear there’s a Blazers-Jordan connection. But we won’t know how strong that connection is until talks raise above just kicking-the-tires-type rumors.

Jordan is averaging 11.8 points and 14.9 rebounds for the Clippers this season. L.A. signaled the beginning of their rebuild on Monday by trading All-Star forward Blake Griffin to the Detroit Pistons.

The NBA Trade Deadline is Thursday, February 8th.