2008 NBA Draft Preview: DeAndre Jordan

DeAndre Jordan is the kind of player that made you wish he played at a bigger school. Sure, Billy Gillespie brought the Texas A&M Aggies back from basketball nowhere back to prominence in the Big 12, but that program still isn't considered elite to this point. DeAndre Jordan and Joseph Jones were two Hosses on the low block who both could command a double team. Now as Mark Turgeon tried to build on what Billy Gillespie had left him last year Turgeon will be extremely sad to see DeAndre Jordan leave school early.

The Indiana Pacers have been high on this 6"11 kid with a midrange game for quite a while. It appears that they may have given up on the possibility that former Colorado Buffalo David Harrison will ever live up to his previous high stock. The question that has been posed about DeAndre Jordan is whether he has shown the potential to dominate in games. Playing at Texas A&M with guys like Joseph Jones and Josh Carter kind of makes you second or third fiddle on the inside, not just on the offense as a whole. Only being a freshman DeAndre Jordan is likely to become foul prone in the NBA given his lack of experience as noted by mynbadraft.net

I would definitely say that DeAndre Jordan is a project, but unlike some other players in the NBA Draft he got here based on hard work and not merely on his last name. His sheer althleticism and raw skill ought to be enough for some reason team to take a risk on him, he seems like the kind of kid that is willing to learn.
He has the NBA size and strength, but his post game isn't there yet. The Pacers would be a team who could use him because as hard working as a guy like Jeff Foster is, they need a post option who can score. DeAndre Jordan can be molded into that consistent scorer.

A team like the Knicks could be an option as well given the fact that Zach Randolph already has an idea of how he wants to play and it might not fit into what Mike D'Antoni wants to do. Right now though NBADraft.net has DeAndre Jordan going to the Golden State Warriors.

Sources:

Mynbadraft.net contributors. "DeAndre Jordan Profile" MyNBADraft.net

http://www.mynbadraft.com/NBA-Draft-Profiles-2008/DeAndre-Jordan