Sixers Sign DeAndre Jordan as Backup Center, Release Willie Cauley-Stein

Sixers plan to sign DeAndre Jordan as backup big man, release Cauley-Stein originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers have made DeAndre Jordan their latest addition in the search for backup center answers. 

The team signed Jordan, who was waived Tuesday after playing in 32 games this season for the Lakers.

Jordan will be able to play in the postseason, since Tuesday was the playoff-eligibility waiver deadline. His contract will be a pro-rated, veteran minimum deal for the rest of the season. 

The Sixers also released Willie Cauley-Stein, who signed a 10-day contract last week.

Jordan's best years came under current Sixers head coach Doc Rivers with the Clippers. He made the All-Defensive First Team twice, led the NBA in rebounding twice, and was selected to the 2017 All-Star Game. 

The 6-foot-11 Jordan's game has since dropped off. He only appeared three times for the Lakers since Jan. 15 and is not the athlete he was during the Clippers' "Lob City" era. There were undoubtedly more reasons to believe that Andre Drummond, who the Sixers sent to the Nets as part of their trade for James Harden, could back Joel Embiid up capably in the postseason.

Jordan's last playoff action was in 2017. 

However, Jordan will bring size, experience, and familiarity with Rivers and Harden. Brooklyn had a minus-0.1 net rating last season on the 1,333 non-garbage time possessions when Jordan and Harden shared the court, per Cleaning the Glass. Harden assisted Jordan 50 times and the Texas A&M product shot 76.1 percent off of his passes. 

After acquiring Harden, the Sixers first used Paul Reed at backup center. Rivers liked what Reed showed, but the Sixers sought more depth. 

“He was great," Rivers said following the Sixers' Feb. 12 win over the Cavs. “He really was. He’s had two games in a row where he’s just doing his job. He runs the floor, he rebounds. He’s a bit of an instigator, unintentionally. He just becomes an instigator with the way he plays. And I love that he’s fearless. He’s not going to back down from anybody.

“Obviously they start posting him up and he doesn’t have the size to guard some of those guys, so that’s why we’re out on the market trying to find one more big, for nights like that.”

The 6-foot-7, 37-year-old Paul Millsap was next up, serving as the Sixers' lone backup center in victories over the Bucks, Timberwolves and Knicks. The team struggled defensively when Embiid sat.

“He’s another guy that’s played three games and knows very little of what we’re doing," Rivers said Wednesday of Millsap. “He has a pretty high basketball IQ, does some pretty good things. We need him to be a better roller, I guess, which is something he hasn’t done. I think rebounding-wise, he’s been pretty good. He didn’t rebound tonight but overall, he’s a physical player. I’m not that concerned by it right now.”

Though Rivers said Tuesday the Sixers planned to “see what (Cauley-Stein) can do for us," he did not receive any rotation minutes.

Rookie Charles Bassey hasn't been in the mix after the Harden trade despite promising performances this season in both the G League and NBA. The Sixers recalled the 21-year-old on Thursday. 

Now Jordan is set to be another big man on board, and on another Rivers team aiming for a championship.