DeAndre Jordan has taken it upon himself to pass knowledge down to Jarrett Allen, which greatly helps the Brooklyn Nets.
Entering the 2019-20 season, DeAndre Jordan had not come off the bench in nine seasons.
Joining the Brooklyn Nets was a huge adjustment for the 31-year-old, who expressed his ‘daily’ struggles with his reality to ESPN’s Malika Andrews.
“I battle with it daily. But I knew at some point in my career, at some point I was going to have to come off the bench,” Jordan said. “I didn’t think it was going to be now. I still don’t think it’s now. But this is the hand I was dealt. I could be an a–hole, but then if Jarrett isn’t playing well, then our team is not playing well.”
Jordan, who signed a four-year, $40 million contract this past offseason, has been relegated to bench duties in favor of the much younger Jarrett Allen.
However, he’s doing what he can to instill confidence and knowledge in the 21-year-old, acknowledging that if “Jarrett isn’t playing well, then our team isn’t playing well.”
As mentioned in Andrews’ feature, a game against the Orlando Magic came to Allen’s mind when discussing his new mentor. Allen was going through pre-game warmups when Jordan approached him with some advice in guarding Magic center Nikola Vucevic.
Jordan mimicked the role of Allen while the 21-year-old roleplayed as Vucevic. The pregame simulation translated to the actual game itself, with Allen making sure to give credit where credits due.
“I did exactly what he said in the game and got the steal off of it,” Allen says. “The first thing I did was point to him on the bench, because he did help me out.”
For the season Jordan is averaging 8.1 points and 9.8 rebounds, showcasing he’s still got practical value as a backup big, not just as a pricey mentor.
