Now in his 12th season in the league, veteran big man DeAndre Jordan has found himself in unfamiliar territory with the Brooklyn Nets. After being a starter for pretty much his entire career (save for his first few seasons in the NBA), the 6-foot-11 center has now been relegated to a bench role in head coach Kenny Atkinson's rotation.
Recently, Jordan admitted that this has not been an easy pill to swallow for him:
“It is tough as hell [to come off the bench],” Jordan says, via Malika Andrews of ESPN. “I battle with it daily. But I knew at some point in my career, at some point I was going to have to come off the bench. I didn't think it was going to be now. I still don't think it's now. But this is the hand I was dealt.”
Jordan is the ultimate veteran, and despite the huge hit to his ego, he has accepted his role with the Nets without any incident. Right now, the 31-year-old is averaging just 21.2 minutes off the bench — his lowest since his sophomore year — putting up 8.1 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.o assists, and a block per contest.
Jordan is currently serving as the primary backup to starting big man Jarrett Allen. The 21-year-old rising star has shown a lot of potential and continues on his quest to establish himself as one of the elite big men in the league today. For his part, Jordan acknowledged Allen's importance to the Nets:
“I could be an a–hole, but then if Jarrett isn't playing well, then our team is not playing well,” he added.
Jordan came to Brooklyn in the offseason along with his two best friends, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. While he may have seen a significant decrease in his role, we're pretty sure he's also delighted with the fact that he's now on the same team with his buddies.
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