DeAndre Jordan pulled off the best joke of 2015 on the poor Dallas Mavericks. He made a contractual agreement with Mark Cuban and the Mavs preceding the window opening, and before pen was put to paper, the Clippers swooped in for the rescue (or steal if you’re a Dallas fan). But we all know the story.
Thanks to his return to Los Angeles, DeAndre is ready for a bigger role offensively. It was his one requirement for the Clippers if they did resign him, and after the whole house raid fiasco, they better give Jordan what he wants.
Last season, he scored 11.5 points per game, a career high. The points came off of 71% shooting, which ranked first in the league, even over dunk-only Tyson Chandler. Field goal percentage wasn’t the only category DeAndre led the league in. His marquee stat, rebounds, were best in the NBA with 15 a night, ahead of Andre Drummond’s 13.5.
With Jordan’s increased role in the offense, fantasy owners could see 15 point, 15 rebound games quite often. He’s sure to raise his double double number, considering he reached ten rebounds more than he reached ten points. Last season DeAndre came third in the NBA for double doubles with 47, tied with DeMarcus Cousins. Prediction for next season: upwards of 60 double doubles if he plays all 82 games.
On top of great shooting percentage and crazy rebounding numbers, Jordan also racks up the fifth most blocks per game in the league. He averaged 2.2 blocks, and added a steal into the mix as well. While his defensive numbers are better than a majority of the league’s, Jordan is ranked near Serge Ibaka, Pau Gasol and Kawhi Leonard this fantasy season, all players who provide similar numbers. Since they can also contribute to other categories like points, free throw percentage and assists, they’re more appetizing than DeAndre Jordan.
The major downside to DeAndre in fantasy basketball is his horrific free throw shooting. Throughout his career, it’s reached over 50% only once, in the lockout season (so it doesn’t REALLY count). Last year, he shot 39.7% from the line. The evolution of Hack-a-Shaq to Hack-a-Jordan kills every fantasy teams free throw percentage week after week. The only way to balance out his garbage percentage from the line is to draft someone like James Harden or Russell Westbrook, who make 15 to 20 free throws a night.
Steering away from the negatives of DeAndre, his durability is something to envy. Since becoming a larger part of the Clippers organization, Jordan hasn’t missed a regular season game. In the past three years, he’s played all 246 possible games. Having him on your fantasy roster means rebounds every night, every week. Unfortunately, it also means bad free throw percentage every night and every week.
Looking through Jordan’s game log, his rebounding numbers stayed consistent, and any fluctuation was a rise. While he averaged 15 a night, he grabbed less than ten rebounds in just seven games. On the other hand, he grabbed over 20 rebounds in 11 games, most coming in the second half of the season. As for his scoring, however. Jordan had games, in result of playing alongside Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and now Josh Smith, where he scored single digit points. For a second round pick, it’s tough to ignore that. He does compliment the low scoring with a lot of rebounds, and also doesn’t hurt field goal percentage on those nights either.
DeAndre is set for a breakout season with the Clippers despite sharing the floor with several other elite players. His offensive numbers are bound to grow, and he’s always been a consistent, top tier rebounder. In addition, he adds a steal and two blocks per contest, numbers that are extremely valuable in fantasy basketball. Sadly, he lowers his own draft stock by shooting under 40% from the charity stripe, a historically bad number. With Hack-a-Shaq still running strong, DeAndre will be spending more time at the line than on the rest of the court.
Durability: A+
Overall Stats: B
Consistency: A-
Mock Draft Ranking: #18