Los Angeles Lakers: 3 potential trade packages for DeAndre Jordan

The Los Angeles Lakers made the team’s first trade of the 2021-22 season by trading away Rajon Rondo essentially for an open roster spot. The Lakers sent Rondo to the Cleveland Cavaliers and in exchange received a non-guaranteed contract in Denzel Valentine. The Knicks were looped into the deal for Valentine, saving the Lakers $4 million in the process.

The Lakers could have just waived Rondo in order to make the extra roster spot but the team is so far over the luxury tax that it does not want to do that. The team would still have to pay Rondo’s full salary plus the salary of a new player plus the tax implications that would ensue. This way, the Lakers can essentially replace what they are paying Rondo for someone else.

The next player that the Los Angeles Lakers might trade is DeAndre Jordan.

The Los Angeles Lakers are not going to get anything of real value for DeAndre Jordan on the trade market but they could try and orchestrate a trade similar to the Rondo trade. Find a team that could use center depth, as the Cavaliers needed a point guard to replace the injured Ricky Rubio, and receive a non-guaranteed contract for him.

Of course, this dwindles down the list. Not every team needs a veteran center, especially considering Jordan has not been all that good. Even when we narrow the list down to teams that need centers, we still have to find teams that have non-guaranteed contracts to ship.

Luckily for the Lakers, trading Jordan is not impossible and there are some potential trades that could be done.