Should Deandre Jordan Leave Clippers In The Offseason?

“Deandre Jordan is clearly the Defensive Player of the Year.”

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These are words that were uttered by Jordan’s head coach, Doc Rivers, back on March 2, detailing the center’s success being a force down low.

“If anybody else gets that award, we need to have an investigation,” Rivers said, via ESPN. “What he’s doing defensively, if he was doing that offensively, he would be recognized as the MVP or one of them, but because it’s defense, no one notices.”

Rivers’ statement is surely bold, but it also makes a ton of sense. What Jordan has done defensively is remarkable.

Jordan is constantly all over the floor, whether it’s guarding players one-on-one out to the perimeter, staying in the lane and blocking or contesting shots or clearing the glass on the defensive end, he’s done his job as the Los Angeles Clippers‘ defensive anchor.

It’s been Jordan’s rebounding that has really been a strong point for the Clippers’ success, as he’s averaged 14.9 rebounds per game, which leads the entire NBA.

The total percentage of rebounds that Jordan has grabbed while on the floor is 24.4 percent, close to a quarter(!!) of all available rebounds. He’s been relentless on both ends of the floor grabbing rebounds, but primarily defensively where he’s grabbing 10.1 rebounds per game.

People tend to forget just how important defensive rebounding is to a team’s success, but it’s true. It doesn’t matter what kind of defense you play to not give a clean shot to the other team, if you can’t rebound the ball and end the play, then everything before that was all for not if they can get easy second chance points.

Jordan limits everything that the other team can do in terms of crashing the boards, taking away an entire game plan from an offense because of his athleticism and motor going up for rebounds. That’s pretty significant in my opinion.

Going even deeper into Jordan’s numbers, he’s contributed 12 total win shares to his team and has had a PER of 20.7 all season long, two numbers that would both be career-highs.

Even though Jordan’s impact has been almost all on the defensive end, those numbers are still very significant because not a lot of defense-only players have above-average PERs or that many win shares because of how highly offense is valued in today’s game.

Yes, he doesn’t do much offensively besides finish easy plays, especially since he’s one of the worst free-throw shooters in the league at 39.3 percent from the line, but what he can do for his team on defense far outweighs his offensive limitations.

With that being said, is Jordan the kind of player that can fetch a huge return on the free agent market despite his drawbacks offensively?

That answer is yes because big men as athletic as he is don’t grow on trees or come around very often. Jordan is a special talent, and he will be a sought-after free agent when this season ends.

So should he leave the Clippers if he has the chance? That depends on the situation he could walk into.

If he could go to another contender and compete for a title right away for a great organization, then he should definitely consider all of his options. But being in Los Angeles, playing for a new and charismatic owner who wants to win a title more than anything, and playing around players like Blake Griffin and Chris Paul and one of the best head coaches in the league in Doc Rivers is a very appealing package for Jordan.

Now if the Clippers were to be eliminated in the first round, that could change a few things, but the team looks to be primed for a run this postseason.

Right now, it seems like Jordan’s best option is to stay with the Clippers and continue to develop as an offensive player. He’s in a great situation with talent surrounding him that can compete for a title now, and that’s really what any player could ask for.

His defense-first mindset fits well with Griffin’s offensive ability, as Griffin can step out and knock down a mid-range jump shot or play at the elbow being a distributor for the team, which clears out enough space for Jordan to be effective down low. I’m not sure Jordan could go to a team with such a versatile and efficient power forward like Griffin.

Stay in L.A., Jordan. It’s your best shot right now to contend for a title for years to come.

*Statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference.

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