NBA Rumors: Latest on DeAndre Jordan, LaMarcus Aldridge and More

The early pace of NBA free-agency news is slowing down, but teams are still working just as hard to fill out their rosters.

Whether by agreeing to contracts with free agents or finalizing trades, squads are hoping to fix flaws on their rosters in order to put the best possible product on the floor by opening night.

Friday's biggest news belonged to DeAndre Jordan and the Dallas Mavericks. The former Los Angeles Clippers star agreed to a four-year, $80 million deal with Dallas, according to Ken Berger of CBS Sports.

Let's look at how the Clippers might be hoping to fix their newfound hole at starting center, as well as a couple of other free-agent rumblings.

Are the Clippers Looking for a DeAndre Jordan Sign-and-Trade?

Losing out on Jordan is a huge, huge blow to the Clippers' championship aspirations.

Not only was the athletic 6'11", 265-pound big man Los Angeles' third-best player behind Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, he was one of the few viable rotation big men the Clippers had. In the postseason, Griffin and Jordan played 39.8 and 34.4 minutes per game, respectively, and were only subbed out for brief breathers or foul trouble.

Scott Halleran/Getty Images

Glen Davis, Spencer Hawes, Ekpe Udoh and Hedo Turkoglu backed them up, but that quartet definitely isn't a championship-caliber contingent of reserve big men.

Now, not only is Jordan gone but Hawes was traded to the Charlotte Hornets and Davis, Udoh and Turkoglu are all free agents. To add insult to injury, the team has an approximately $65.7 million payroll for 2015-16 already, per Spotrac, which is just under the salary cap of $67.1 million, according to RealGM.

Essentially, the Clippers have a huge hole to fill and a tiny bit of cap space to do so.

For that reason, Los Angeles has been pursuing a sign-and-trade with Dallas, according to Berger:

"

.@WindhorstESPN cites benefits of LAC sign-and-trade with Dallas for Jordan. In fact, source tells me Clips have approached Mavs about it.

— Ken Berger (@KBergCBS) July 4, 2015"

Theoretically, the Clippers could work out a deal where they signed Jordan and then traded him to Dallas for a trade exception. Then Los Angeles could use that exception to acquire some respectable big-man help.

However, as SB Nation's Mike Prada notes, "There's no incentive for the Mavericks to help a rival out by structuring the deal that way when they could just sign Jordan outright." 

Prada added that the more likely scenario is the Clippers just scraping the bargain barrel in free agency for big-man help. The squad could use minimum contracts and the remainder of its midlevel exception to do so.

If indeed the Clippers are forced to go with the second option, it could be a difficult season for Clippers post players outside of Griffin.

Where's LaMarcus Aldridge Planning to Sign Now?

The stream of LaMarcus Aldridge news has remained steady throughout the first few days of free agency.

Aldridge has attended numerous meetings with several teams since Wednesday, and reporters have stayed attuned to every momentary leaning of the All-Star power forward.

Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski reported which two teams were the front-runners to sign Aldridge on Friday afternoon:

But less than two hours later, Berger added one team to the list: Aldridge's original team—the Portland Trail Blazers:

Remember, Trail Blazers assistant coach Kim Hughes told WTHI TV in Terre Haute, Indiana, on June 26 that the Blazers had "lost LaMarcus Aldridge," according to Mike Tokito of the Oregonian. So apparently Portland has re-inserted its hat into the proverbial ring to re-sign its star power forward.

Although getting Aldridge back would be huge for the Blazers, it would also render Portland's moves to acquire promising young big men Mason Plumlee, Noah Vonleh and Ed Davis a little bit less necessary.

Consider the San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns still the two favorites to acquire the All-Star. Both squads have cleared plenty of cap space in preparation for Aldridge's arrival. 

Is Amar'e Stoudemire On the Move?

Make no mistake: Amar'e Stoudemire is not a star anymore. The 32-year-old power forward is clearly past his athletic prime and is dreadful defensively.

However, he can still help a team out in a part-time role.

Bleacher Report's Jared Zwerling noted Friday that Stoudemire and a handful of Western Conference teams have shown mutual interest in possibly working out a deal with the big man:

Stoudemire should be looking at a team that can use him in a limited but rotational role and also has the post defenders to take some of the pressure off of him on the less glamorous end of the floor.

The Clippers would probably be forced to give the veteran too many minutes, as they're starved for big-man depth. The Los Angeles Lakers, meanwhile, don't have enough interior defense to pair with Stoudemire to use him as a helpful option.

Phoenix, Dallas and San Antonio could work, however:

David Dow/Getty Images

The Suns recently acquired Tyson Chandler, who could form a solid interior duo with Stoudemire, his former New York Knicks teammate.

The Mavs are the team Stoudemire ended last season playing with, and he contributed an excellent 10.8 points in 16.5 minutes per game during his 23-game stint there. Dallas' addition of Jordan could also help Stoudemire defensively if he re-signs.

And lastly, the Spurs have Tim Duncan holding down the paint and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Kawhi Leonard providing plenty of help when needed. Stoudemire wouldn't have to supply any more than 15 minutes of high-energy play off the bench.