The 76ers have reportedly emerged as the favorite to add DeAndre Jordan either as a waiver claim or a free-agent signing, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Jordan was waived by the Lakers on Monday, which allows him to join another team for the final stretch of the regular season. Philadelphia has been on the lookout for a backup center to MVP candidate Joel Embiid after trading away Andre Drummond to Brooklyn last month in a deal to acquire James Harden.
Jordan, 33, fell out of the rotation in Los Angeles rather quickly after joining the Lakers on a one-year, $2.6 million deal this offseason. He played in 32 games and made 19 starts this season, averaging 4.1 points and 5.4 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per game.
The Lakers will reportedly replace Jordan with veteran guard D.J. Augustin, as first reported by The Athletic‘s Shams Charania. The 34-year-old averaged 5.4 points and 2.2 assists in 15 minutes per game this season for Houston. He is expected to play backup point guard behind Russell Westbrook.
The Lakers also plan to sign free agent forward Wenyen Gabriel to a two-way contract. The 24-year-old went undrafted out of Kentucky in 2018 and has had stints with the Kings, Blazers, Pelicans, Nets and Clippers.
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