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Clippers may have offered trade of DeAndre Jordan for Andre Drummond, per Windhorst

By Duncan Smith

Nov 14, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (0) drives the ball defended by Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (right) during the fourth quarter at Staples Center. The Los Angeles Clippers won 101-96. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 14, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (0) drives the ball defended by Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (right) during the fourth quarter at Staples Center. The Los Angeles Clippers won 101-96. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports /
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On Wednesday ESPN’s Brian Windhorst told The Jump that the Los Angeles Clippers have spoken to the Detroit Pistons about trading for Andre Drummond.

The Detroit Pistons have been quiet amidst the craziness breaking out around the NBA on the eve of the draft. In fact, the Pistons have been too quiet. Much like before they traded for Reggie Jackson at the 2013-14 trade deadline and Tobias Harris at the 2014-15 deadline, there’s been virtually nothing coming out of Auburn Hills aside from press conferences about draft prep.

I don’t believe it, and neither does ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, who told The Jump on Wednesday that the Los Angeles Clippers have tried to move DeAndre Jordan, and that they’ve talked to the Pistons about trading him for Andre Drummond.

Listen to the clip below.

Windhorst expresses some of the interest comes from the fact that Jordan is a superior defensive player, while Drummond is a better offensive player. This is incorrect, as the myth that Andre Drummond is an offensive centerpiece still seems to permeate the national narrative.

While Drummond averaged 13.6 points and 13.8 rebounds per game last season, he did so with much higher usage and lower efficiency than Jordan did. Drummond had a usage rate of 22.4 percent, shooting 53 percent from the field and 38.6 percent from the free throw line.

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Conversely, Jordan averaged 12.7 points and 13.8 rebounds per game with a much lower usage of 15.4 percent. Jordan shot 71.4 percent from the field, and while his 48.2 percent free throw percentage is woeful, it’s likely better than anything Drummond is likely to achieve in his career.

Jordan’s huge field goal percentage edge is not due to some kind of tremendous range or offensive skill, but it’s a result of focusing on his strengths and not using more than 25 percent of his offensive touches by doing literally the thing he’s worst at. Drummond has heavy usage with 27.5 percent of his possessions coming in the post and scores just .734 points per possession.

Jordan posts up just 10.6 percent of the time, but he scores an entirely reasonable 0.882 points per possession. Jordan is also a devastating roll man, scoring an utterly ridiculous 1.52 points per possession in the pick and roll. Drummond scores a reasonable but less impressive 1.061 points per possession as the roll man.

Essentially, Jordan focuses on his strengths and stays away from his weaknesses. He’s unstoppable around the rim, hitting 75.3 percent of his shots from within three feet of the basket. Drummond is excellent close to the basket as well, hitting 68.4 percent from close range. However, Jordan takes almost 90 percent of his shots from within three feet, while less than 50 percent of Drummond’s attempts come from close range.

Jordan is also an entirely capable rim protector who isn’t prone to major lapses in focus and awareness on the defensive side, while this is not a description you could use for Andre Drummond.

While Andre Drummond is considered the best rebounder in the NBA, DeAndre Jordan is perhaps his equal. Drummond led the NBA in offensive, defensive and total rebounding percentage with 15.1, 36.3 and 25.3 percent respectively, but Jordan was just a touch behind him with percentages of 13.3, 34.6 and 24.2 percent respectively.

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As for the financials, Drummond is owed $105 million over the next four seasons and the final year is a player option. Jordan is under contract for the next two seasons, making just shy of $47 million. His 2018-19 season is a player option. Jordan is five years older than Drummond, but in many ways he is the player Pistons fans hope Drummond one day turns into. Depending on what else might be involved in this deal, this is likely a move the Detroit Pistons should make.

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