It’s now pretty darn clear that the DeAndre Jordan era in Los Angeles is over. On the very same day news broke that Jordan would opt into his contract as a way to facilitate a trade to the Dallas Mavericks, there appears to be a pretty massive trade in the works.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Clippers will trade guard Austin Rivers to the Washington Wizards in exchange for center Marcin Gortat.
The Los Angeles Clippers are trading guard Austin Rivers to the Washington Wizards for center Marcin Gortat, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 26, 2018
Clearly on the trade block since the end of the 2017-18 season, Gortat will eventually replace Jordan as the Clippers’ starting center. The 34-year-old big man averaged 8.4 points and 7.6 rebounds for Washington last season.
Now that Rivers is headed to D.C., it remains to be seen what the Wizards’ backcourt will look like. John Wall and Bradley Beal are the two obvious starters. Though, Washington just recently selected former Oregon guard Troy Brown in the first round of the 2018 NBA Draft.
While this certainly means another move is on the way for the Los Angeles, it’s time to really look at what the overrated Wizards plan to do this summer. Maybe this is a precursor to the team breaking up its Wall-Beal backcourt.