Nets trade Jordan in flurry of moves
When it comes to reshaping the roster, the Nets never sleep.
In a Friday flurry of moves, they finally found a taker for DeAndre Jordan, waived Alize Johnson and brought LaMarcus Aldridge back out of retirement. There were also picks and cash going out and a pair of young big men coming back.
Nets general manager Sean Marks traded Jordan, $5.78 million in cash and four secondround picks — two of their own — to the Pistons for 20year-old forward Sekou Doumbouya and former Nets center Jahlil Okafor. The two young bigs will make a combined $5.7 million this season, roughly half what Jordan would have, and have no guaranteed money beyond that.
The trade will save the Nets about $47 million on their historically high luxury tax bill. The swap was first reported by ESPN and confirmed by The Post. Brooklyn also created a $6.3 million trade exception, according to former Nets assistant GM Bobby Marks, now with ESPN.
Jordan will be bought out by the Pistons according to The Athletic, giving back $4 million of his remaining $20 million salary, which the Pistons will stretch. He reportedly will accept a $2.6 million offer from the Lakers, logical since he keeps a home in Malibu, Calif.
The Nets also sent Detroit their own natural secondrounders in 2022 and 2027, along with a 2024 secondrounder from Washington and a 2025 second-rounder from Golden State. They waived Johnson, whose contract was non-guaranteed up until Opening Night.
That created a spot for Aldridge, just five months after a cardiac issue forced the veteran center into an unexpected retirement.
After reports Thursday that Aldridge, 36, had been cleared to return by both independent physicians and Nets doctors, it didn’t take him long to come back.
“I retired in April based on what I believed was the wisest precautionary decision for my personal health at the time, but further testing and evaluation by several top physicians has convinced the doctors, myself and the Nets that I’m fully cleared and able to return to the rigors of the NBA,” Aldridge told ESPN.
Aldridge will make $2.6 million on a veteran’s minimum. He started all five of his appearances for the Nets last season, his post-ups and midrange game giving them a dimension they otherwise lacked. Aldridge, who was plus-41 through his first four games, felt an irregular heartbeat during a game at the Lakers and retired days later.
Blake Griffin eventually took hold of the starting center position. He and Nic Claxton could back up or compete with Aldridge, who will return just 49 points shy of the 20,000 milestone.
Despite reports that Jordan was essentially untouchable because of his close relationship with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, sources told The Post that the Nets had previously offered a first-round pick to move the 33-yearold, to no avail.
The Nets still have secondrounders in 2024, 2026 and 2028 — along with Dombouya and Okafor. Dombouya has a $5.5 million team option for 2022-23 that seems likely to be declined, which will save them more money. He is still close with the Nets’ Bruce Brown for their days in Detroit, and he worked out with Durant in Los Angeles.
The Nets are staring at the prospect of opening training camp later this month $41 million into the tax, or an eyewatering $143 million tax bill for owner Joe Tsai. (Mikhail Prokhorov’s 2012-13 Nets already own the current record, $91 million).
This move drops the tax bill down to $117 million this coming season. It could get lower if the Nets trade either of the young bigs they just acquired, and will get sliced roughly $40 million in 2022-23.
The Nets have 17 players — including partially guaranteed DeAndre’ Bembry — and room for just 15. They could move one of the young bigs and potentially waive the other and bring him back on a two-way deal, if all parties agree.