The Nuggets add a backup center in first moments of free agency

Minutes into free agency, Denver made a move that garnered headlines and tweets, but it's not one that necessarily is a roster upgrade

BY JAMES MERILATT

Jun 30, 2022, 4:11 PM

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Well, that didn’t take long. Less than one minute after NBA free agency officially began, the Nuggets made news.

Free agent center DeAndre Jordan has agreed to a deal with the Denver Nuggets, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2022

It’s a big name, as the 14-year NBA veteran is well known to basketball fans. But it’s not exactly the type of move that is going to put the Nuggets over the top.

Jordan will turn 34 years old in three weeks. His best days are clearly behind him.

Last season, the 6-foot-11 center averaged just 4.3 points and 5.5 rebounds in 48 games. He played 32 with the Lakers and 16 with the 76ers, his fifth and sixth stops during his NBA career.

At this point, Jordan is a journeyman. After 10 seasons with the Clippers, where he was one of the game’s top rebounders and earned an All-Star invite in 2016-17, the center has bounced around the league. The Nuggets will be his sixth team in the last four years.

The move probably means that DeMarcus Cousins won’t return to the Nuggets. In 31 games with the franchise last season, the veteran center averaged 8.9 points and 5.5 rebounds, serving as a backup to Nikola Jokic.

That job will now transition to Jordan. Denver has a new second-string center.

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