The Philadelphia 76ers announced that they have signed veteran center DeAndre Jordan after he was let go by the Los Angeles Lakers and cleared waivers.
To create a roster spot, the 76ers released Willie Cauley-Stein from his 10-day contract. Because Jordan was waived ahead of the March 1 deadline, he is eligible to play in the postseason for Philadelphia.
When the Lakers originally signed Jordan, the hope was that they would be able to replicate their center rotation from the 2020 championship season with Jordan replacing JaVale McGee.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned though as Jordan started 19 games at the beginning of the season and struggled to stay on the floor, eventually falling out of the Lakers’ rotation completely.
The Lakers didn’t make any trades ahead of the deadline despite rumors indicating they were looking to dump Jordan’s contract. Ahead of the buyout deadline though, L.A. finally made the decision to waive Jordan to bring in some backcourt depth with veteran point guard D.J. Augustin.
Frank Vogel revealed that the decision was made because Jordan came to them saying he could find a larger role elsewhere, and the Lakers granted him that opportunity. That will come with the 76ers, where Jordan can be reunited with his former coach on the Los Angeles Clippers in Doc Rivers.
The 76ers traded another former Lakers center in Andre Drummond ahead of the deadline, leaving them without a true backup for Joel Embiid. Jordan will now come in and fill that role, hoping to help a team with championship aspirations in the Eastern Conference.
Gabriel believes he can give Lakers rebounding and energy
Without Jordan, the Lakers are left with only one true center on the roster in Dwight Howard, although they did recently sign Wenyen Gabriel to a two-way contract to help with that.
Speaking for the first time since joining the Lakers, Gabriel believes he can provide the team rebounding and energy, which L.A. has lacked this season.
“Things I normally already do,” Gabriel said, asked about L.A.’s expectations toward him. “I play with a lot of energy. I rebound and I can spread the floor offensively. And also, I have more experience now. It’s my fourth year in the league. Just having young legs being able to get up and down the court. Talk defensively. The kind of spark that makes it contagious for the whole team.”
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