Vincent Frank
In his first season as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, former All-Star center DeAndre Jordan just has not fit in well.
The 33-year-old former second-round pick of the Los Angeles Clippers has found himself in and out of the rotation all season for a struggling Lakers squad.
He’s now apparently out of a job.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Los Angeles plans to waive DeAndre Jordan while replacing him on the roster with D.J. Augustin to back up Russell Westbrook at point guard.
Related: Sportsnaut’s updated NBA Playoff and championship predictions
Waiving DeAndre Jordan could be first of many moves for the Los Angeles Lakers
At 27-33 on the season and coming off a blowout home loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, there’s every reason to believe Los Angeles will make some more moves before postseason rosters are set next month.
Moving off Jordan himself made sense in that the veteran center had provided very little of substance for Los Angeles thus far this season. He’s averaging a mere 4.1 points and 5.4 rebounds in less than 13 minutes per game. Jordan has also suited up in all of four games since Christmas Day.
It is interesting that Augustin is the individual Los Angeles is adding to the mix. As Charania noted, he’ll take over backup point guard duties behind struggling starter Russell Westbrook.
The 34-year-old veteran was waived by the Houston Rockets earlier in February after averaging 5.4 points and 2.2 assists on 41% shooting from distance in 34 games.
A former first-round pick of the then-Charlotte Bobcats back in 2008, Augustin’s best season came back in 2012-13 when he was a member of the Indiana Pacers. The veteran averaged 13.1 points and 4.4 assists on 40% shooting from distance that season.
