Raptors have discussed DeAndre Jordan trade with Clippers, per report

The Los Angeles Clippers and Toronto Raptors have discussed a deal for DeAndre Jordan, according to The New York Times’ Marc Stein, although any deal would likely need a third team to help facilitate it. The likely problem is that neither team would want to be stuck with Jonas Valanciunas.

Jordan has been rumored in trade talks from Los Angeles for weeks now, and the talks have picked up even more seriously since Blake Griffin was dealt at the end of January. That said, it’s tricky to see what third team would be interested in making this deal happen.

The problem is that neither team would likely want to be stuck with Valanciunas, who is a good player but has two more years left on his deal and doesn’t fit perfectly into the modern NBA. Valanciunas has been playing excellent basketball for the Raptors lately, even spacing out and hitting corner three-pointers. But Toronto wouldn’t want to be stuck with him in a Jordan deal. It’s unlikely Los Angeles would have much desire to take on such a contract, either.

Even though Valanciunas has been great, Jordan fits modern defensive schemes better. There are situations where Valanciunas would get played off the court in a playoff series, something that can’t happen nearly as easily for Jordan, especially since his free throw percentage is now near 60 percent, a career high for him.

I like these trade talks for the Raptors. It’s not the safe move, not with Cleveland collapsing and the Raptors sitting just one game back of the Boston Celtics for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. They could easily keep this team together, not even think about making moves, and nobody would fault them.

But he Raptors are either making a championship run, or they’re not. Why not go for it? They’re this close already, and Jordan should move them slightly closer to that reality. Boston is only going to get better. LeBron James may have a new and improved team next year. The Warriors’ bench has never looked so vulnerable. If the Raptors think Jordan helps them, and if they can get rid of Valanciunas to a third team while still offering enough to satiate the Clippers, then why not?

Jordan is a remnant of the old Los Angeles teams, and it just makes sense to move on.

That said, I don’t know why a magical third team out there wants Valanciunas and the $34 million he has left on his deal over the next two years. I like that Toronto is having these talks, and maybe it can sweeten the deal enough that there’s a direct two-way trade that can happen here. But the Raptors also have to be careful — Jordan would make this team better but not if they gut the bench. When you extrapolate those variables, I’m not sure how Toronto would pull off this move.