Los Angeles Clippers: Time To Trade DeAndre Jordan?
The Los Angeles Clippers have been a disappointment so far in 2014. Much of that has been on the defensive end, but offensively they are far from the juggernaut that terrified western conference coaches last year.
I talked earlier about the frontcourt rotations, specifically about Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, and Spencer Hawes. In short, Griffin’s prowess seemed to mesh better with Hawes than with incumbent starter Jordan.
Recently, Grantland.com’s Zach Lowe wrote about this topic:
"The Clips can score, but it has always felt like they get by more on talent than clean roster fit. Griffin has overindulged on midrange jumpers, but when he plays next to Spencer Hawes instead of Jordan, Griffin morphs back into a bulldozer; about 55 percent of Griffin’s shots have come in the restricted area when Jordan sits, compared to just 28 percent when Jordan clogs up the lane, per NBA.com."
So it would appear my preseason theory about how the Clippers front line would perform seems to have come true, at least so far. The question now is, will Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers make the necessary adjustment and bench Jordan, even in a contract year?
Looking at five-man lineup data from Basketball-Reference.com, you can see right away how the Jordan/Griffin combo has been a complete disaster:
| Net (Per 100 Possessions) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Lineup | G | MP | FG% | 3P% | eFG% | FTA | PTS |
| 4 | M. Barnes | B. Griffin | S. Hawes | C. Paul | J. Redick | 4 | 12.6 | +.200 | +.333 | +.200 | -17.7 | +4.3 |
| 6 | M. Barnes | B. Griffin | D. Jordan | C. Paul | J. Redick | 7 | 106.4 | -.100 | -.266 | -0.126 | +0.3 | -18.5 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/12/2014.
In almost every conceivable category, the same lineup featuring Hawes has outplayed the lineup featuring Jordan when paired with Blake Griffin.
It is astoundingly clear that Jordan has either lost some of his game from last season, or is simply a bad fit, as Lowe stated, with the other pieces. Throw in Matt Barnes poor shooting and it is easy to see why a Barnes/Jordan/Griffin lineup would produce far too many mid-range jumpers and not enough three pointers and slam dunks.
Given Jordan’s recent struggles overall, maybe it is time the Clippers make a splash and trade Jordan for an available small forward who can defend and shoot the three.
Unfortunately, the only real difference makers at that position are either on contenders or on teams that do not look like they would be interested in DeAndre Jordan. Other than Jordan, the Clippers do not have many trade assets, though Jordan is on an expiring contract.
So maybe benching Jordan and moving Hawes into a bigger role is the answer, but if I had to bet on an outcome, I would say that Jordan will be wearing another uniform by the end of the season.