The Philadelphia 76ers were in need of a new backup big man after sending Andre Drummond to the Brooklyn Nets with Seth Curry and Ben Simmons at the NBA trade deadline.

Paul Millsap, who arrived in Philly with Harden, was the primary backup for Embiid over the past few weeks but it was clear that the 76ers still needed an upgrade. From there, they signed Willie Cauley-Stein to a 10-day contract, but Willie Trill didn’t get much playing time over the past week.

Now, Shams broke the news that the 76ers will be signing DeAndre Jordan after the veteran center cleared waivers from the Los Angeles Lakers.

With DJ coming to Philly, the Sixers will be terminating Cauley-Stein’s 10-day contract.

DeAndre Jordan

DeAndre Jordan is averaging a career-low in minutes in 2022, at just 12.8 per game. He has averaged 4.1 PPG and 5.4 RPG in his time with Los Angeles this season.

Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said earlier this week that DeAndre Jordan felt like he would have a larger role in Philadelphia and that the Lakers were willing to grant him the opportunity. Now, DJ is in Philly and will likely serve is the primary backup of Joel Embiid as the 76ers look to make a run at the NBA finals.

Joining the Sixers will reunite Jordan with Doc Rivers, who coached him in Los Angeles with the Clippers. Doc Rivers always had high praise for Jordan while coaching him, saying he could be the best center in the league if he wanted to before the 2017 season.

Jordan went on to have the best season of his career under Doc, posting career highs in points and FG% while playing 81 games. Jordan will also reunite with James Harden, as the two played together most recently in Brooklyn.

Although Jordan isn’t his “Lob-City” self anymore, he still has what it takes to give you backup minutes. Once we get into the playoffs, a backup center will have to fill roughly eight minutes of playing time while Embiid catches some quick rest.

Not the most exciting move for the Philadelphia 76ers, but it was certainly necessary.