Houston Rockets NBA Trade Rumors: DeAndre Jordan Wants to Be Traded to Houston
Chris Paul probably isn't the most well-liked person in Los Angeles right now after he led a group of Houston Rockets players into the Clippers' locker room to confront Austin Rivers and Blake Griffin on Monday night.
But in a recent edition of ESPN's sports talk show "First Take," Stephen A. Smith said some of the players on the Clippers' roster still have a good relationship with their former teammate, and he claimed that center DeAndre Jordan wanted to be traded to the Rockets so he could play alongside the All-Star point guard again.
"Everybody didn't hate playing with him (Paul)," Smith said, via NESN.com.
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"You got Luc Mbah a Moute that is with the Houston Rockets, he was with the Clippers last year. You got DeAndre Jordan, who wants to get traded to the Houston Rockets. I'm telling you what I heard," he continued.
That's an interesting revelation. However, a deal between the two teams is unlikely to happen.
"Given the growing tension between the two teams, it's hard to imagine the Clippers would trade a player of Jordan's caliber to a fierce rival. And for Houston, unloading a bevy of assets for a player who won't really help you beat the Warriors doesn't make much sense," Adam London said in his column for NESN.com.
Furthermore, it's interesting to note that the Rockets already have a young center in Clint Capela.
There were reports saying that the Clippers have considered trading Jordan to the Rockets for Capela prior to last season's trade deadline, but a lot has changed since then. Capela has had an impressive season so far and he has been posting numbers comparable to Jordan's.
Capela is averaging 14.3 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in under 27 minutes this season. In contrast, Jordan is currently averaging 11.8 points, 14.9 rebounds and a block in under 33 minutes per game.
By looking at their numbers, many would even say that Capela has been playing better than Jordan. Aside from that, the Swiss center also has a team-friendly contract, unlike Jordan.
