2023 NBA Champion Center Agrees to Terms with the Pelicans
During the 2024-2025 NBA season, the Denver Nuggets did everything they possibly could to win another NBA Championship. Finishing fourth in the West with a 50-32 record was still solid enough to gain home-court advantage, yet it was very confusing when this team let go of their head coach and general manager just days before the start of the 2025 NBA Playoffs. DeAndre Jordan has always been a solid big man, but at 36 years of age, the 2023 NBA champion center is looking for one last hurrah before he calls his career over and done with. It was announced today by Shams Charania that the veteran center signed a one-year, $3.6 million deal with the New Orleans Pelicans.
Jordan started his career by being selected as the 35th overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers during the 2008 NBA Draft. He played on the Clippers from 2008 to 2018. With Los Angeles, Jordan was paired with the tandem of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, who hailed the Clippers as “Lob City”. Although they consistently made the playoffs year in and year out, the Clippers always fell out in the first or second round. In the 2015 off-season, Jordan verbally agreed to a four-year deal with the Dallas Mavericks; however, he backed out of that deal days later and remained with the Clippers. It wasn’t until the 2018 off-season that the 2023 NBA champion center signed a one-year deal with the Mavericks. Just months later, he was traded to the New York Knicks in a package that surrounded the Knicks’ Kristaps Porzingis. A year later, he signed a deal with the Brooklyn Nets. The veteran big man played two seasons in Brooklyn before being traded to the Detroit Pistons, yet he would agree to a buyout with the Pistons and signed with the Los Angeles Lakers. Months later, the Lakers waived him. Two days later, he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers. Over the past three seasons, the 36-year-old has been a member of the Denver Nuggets. Backing up three-time MVP Nikola Jokić, Jordan helped the Nuggets earn their first NBA championship in franchise history in 2023 when Denver defeated the Miami Heat in five games.
This past season, Jordan played in 56 games with the Nuggets. He had five starts and averaged 12 minutes a game. During those 56 games, the 2023 NBA champion center averaged about four points, five rebounds, and an assist. There were two occasions this past season when the veteran big man recorded 10 points and 17 rebounds. Even at 36 years of age, the Pelicans know they have a diamond in the rough with this veteran big man, who can still turn it up at times when needed.
