For months the Brooklyn Nets had been looking to salary dump trade or buy out DeAndre Jordan, even at points offering to attach a heavily-protected first-round pick to get off the $19.7 million he is owed the next two years.
The Nets found their partner in Detroit, and the Nets got a player of potential quality back in the trade. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN broke the news (others have since confirmed it).
ESPN Sources: Brooklyn is trading C DeAndre Jordan, four future-second round picks and $5.78M to Detroit for Jahlil Okafor and Sekou Doumbouya. Pistons plan to work through a buyout on two-years, $20M owed Jordan; Nets will save $47M in salary and tax on deal.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 3, 2021
Nets have shown ability to recruit top-level vet-minimum talent as a big-market title contender, which alleviates pressure of surrendering picks over life of Durant/Harden/Irving era. $47M in savings can be reinvested into free agents at mid-level exception, buying future seconds
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 3, 2021
The Pistons will buy out Jordan and he is likely headed to the Lakers, something that had been rumored before and was confirmed by Wojnarowski. With the buzz growing around the league about Marc Gasol retiring from the NBA (or being bought out) and returning to play in Spain next season, Jordan would fill that center rotation with Dwight Howard (although Anthony Davis will likely need to play more there for Los Angeles this season).
Troy Weaver took over in Detroit just more than one year ago and has completely overhauled the Pistons roster — not one player is left from the roster Weaver inherited.
The Nets do well in this trade. The four second-round picks they give up are actually giving Detroit back its 2022 and 2027 second rounders, plus throwing in the Wizards 2024 second-rounder and the Warriors 2025 second-rounder. The Nets also create a $6.7 million trade exception they can use later this season to bring in a player as needed (they also have an $11.5 million trade exception from the Spencer Dinwiddie trade, which gives them flexibility so long as ownership is willing to pay the tax hits that come with moves).
More importantly, the Nets get a raw but athletic and with potential in power forward Sekou Doumbouya. He’s not a player that will help them much this season in a quest for a title — he played fewer than 900 minutes on a struggling Pistons team last season — but is a player who could develop into a rotation player in a couple of years. Doumbouya, the No. 15 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, is still on his rookie deal. It’s a good roll of the dice.
Brooklyn had to waive forward Alize Johnson to make this trade happen.