Detroit Received DeAndre Jordan, Cash and Four Second-Rounders
The Nets sent veteran center DeAndre Jordan, cash and second-round selections in 2022, 2024, 2025 and 2027 to Detroit on September 4, 2021. Brooklyn received center Jahlil Okafor and forward Sekou Doumbouya. The Nets' official announcement identifies the 2024 pick as Washington-origin and the 2025 pick as originating from Golden State. Those protections and origins matter because they were separate draft assets, not four immediately available Pistons players. Brooklyn sought to move Jordan's expensive contract, while Detroit could absorb it in return for multiple longer-term development and trade choices. The agreement was completed before the 2021-22 season and must not be mistaken for a straight center-for-center player swap. Detroit was being paid through draft capital to take on a contract.
Jordan Never Provided a Pistons Regular-Season Career
Detroit quickly worked toward a buyout of Jordan's contract, and he subsequently signed with the Lakers. That meant the Pistons didn't acquire a 13-year veteran who went on to anchor their own 2021-22 defense. His prior Brooklyn average of 7.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in 2020-21 belongs to the Nets, not to Detroit after the trade. The Pistons' inherited A- grade is instead based on being compensated with cash and a series of second-rounders for taking Jordan's salary obligation. The 2022 selection was associated with No. 46 Ismael Kamagate, the 2024 choice with No. 32 Kyle Filipowski, and the 2025 choice with No. 32 Noah Penda. Their draft-right paths subsequently changed in separate agreements, so those selected players' later careers cannot automatically be labeled Pistons games.
Brooklyn Got Two Prospects Without Long-Term Rotation Returns
Okafor was a former No. 3 pick who had struggled to find a regular center role after leaving Philadelphia, while Doumbouya was still a young forward with development potential. Brooklyn did not turn either into a long-running rotation centerpiece. In fact, Doumbouya's contract was moved in another trade to Houston that October, according to the league's official trade tracker. The Nets' D+ inherited grade reflects surrendering four future draft opportunities and cash while receiving little lasting playing output, even if moving Jordan's salary solved a short-term payroll problem. Detroit's more favorable return was in the quantity of discrete picks rather than Jordan's performance. The 2027 pick still had no selected player attached in the inherited record and should not be assigned a fictional draft outcome.
Final Verdict
Pistons Win. Detroit receives A- for DeAndre Jordan's contract, cash and four second-round choices in 2022, 2024, 2025 and 2027; Jordan was bought out before playing a Pistons regular-season game. Brooklyn gets D+ for Jahlil Okafor and Sekou Doumbouya, whose Nets tenure did not justify the quantity of future assets surrendered.