Following an eventful offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers rounded out their roster with yet another veteran in center DeAndre Jordan.
Jordan parted ways with with the Brooklyn Nets via trade and was subsequently bought out by the Detroit Pistons. It was not long before there was some credence to the reports of his interest in signing with the Purple and Gold afterofficially agreeing to a one-year deal.
Jordan’s skill set on defense and finishing at the rim could make him an intriguing fit in the frontcourt alongside Anthony Davis. He plans on once again putting it on full display in his return to Staples Center.
Jordan made it no secret that his role on the team will remain the same as it has in year’s past.
“First of all, I’m extremely excited. I want to thank everybody for this opportunity. I think that my role for any team that I’m on pretty much stays the same,” Jordan said during his introductory press conference. “I’m coming in to defend the basketball, try to change shots and alter shots at the rim, rebound the basketball, get my teammates open as best as possible and keep possessions alive for us and be a great force on both ends of the basketball floor and be a great locker room guy. That’s pretty much been my niche and my thing that I bring to every team that I’m on and I’m excited to get here and get to work with these guys. Being able to have multiple log threats now again with this team is going to be great, especially with the playmakers that we have and the unselfish guys that we have on this team, it’s going to be great.
“And to be able to space the floor a little bit with guys playing in the dunker and having, like I said, multiple playmakers and shooters spaced. So I think at times, we’re going to play big, at times we’re going to play small. It’s obviously whatever the game is needing at that moment in time, we’re going to be able to adjust to that because we’re so versatile.”
It is encouraging to see that despite the recent changes, Jordan is not planning to switch his game up. Nor does he have to, since that is exactly what the Lakers need to potentially round out their rotation.
L.A. already has a similar-type player in Dwight Howard, however, this leaves speculation regarding where Marc Gasol falls on the pecking order. Whether or not Gasol sticks around, Jordan may have an opportunity to work his way onto the starting lineup.
George Karl takes shot at Lakers roster
The signing of Jordan only helped solidify the veteran approach that the Lakers took to filling out their roster this offseason. Of course, the overall age of the roster has been subject to much criticism.
One of the biggest critics of L.A. has been former Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl, who feels this group would only be contenders if it was the 2012-13 season.
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