Pelicans making DeAndre Jordan realization that Nuggets have known for years

It was incredibly evident that the Nuggets needed to improve their bench in the offseason and find a worthy backup center for Nikola Jokic, which they did. But sadly, that meant it was time for the team to say goodbye to a great veteran leader in DeAndre Jordan.

DJ was completely washed, but was an outstanding teammate and locker room guy, whose presence has been missed on the bench. Despite his age and lack of ability to contribute on the court, Jordan was scooped up by the Pelicans in free agency, and interim head coach James Borrego had this to say about the 18-year veteran:

"We actually put him on our staff, but he is probably making more money in the player role. He'll probably take that paycheck... He has got a great way, the guys respect him... He probably does more than I even know"

Borrego is obviously kind of joking here, but the point he’s making is that DAJ is almost more of a coach on the bench than a player at this point, which was his exact role with the Nuggets. He played it to perfection, but unfortunately, Denver’s depth was so bad that they often had to rely on him for real minutes, which generally did not end well.

Jordan more of a coach than player at this point

Now 37 years old, Jordan has appeared in just 2 games this season for New Orleans, playing a total of 23 minutes, but as Borrego pointed out, his contributions come in other forms. He has long been heralded as a great teammate and someone that guys love to play with and have around.

His “playing” career is clearly coming to an end, but he’s a valuable enough locker-room guy that teams are still willing to pay his salary and give him a roster spot, regardless of his lack of ability to do much on the court.

But this won’t go on forever, and eventually, DJ will officially hang it up, at which point, he seems like a great candidate for a role on an NBA coaching staff. And what better place for him to start his coaching career than Denver?

It would be an awesome story to see Jordan transition into a true bench role and sign on with the Nuggets as an assistant coach in the next few years. We already know he has a great rapport with the current players, and it could be a great chance for both sides to keep building something special together.