LaMarcus Aldridge was smiling under his mask. Chris Webber could tell. 

“I’m just enjoying being me,” Aldridge told Webber — TNT’s color analyst — after a sterling debut with the Brooklyn Nets. 

Starting on a talented team with championship aspirations after sitting for a month can have that effect. Aldridge, 35, finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and six assists in 30 minutes (plus-22), and the Nets rolled to a 111-89 blowout victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday night at Barclays Center. 

Meanwhile, DeAndre Jordan was a DNP-Steve Nash’s decision. Clearly, his days as the team’s starting center are over, with Aldridge taking over the role. Nash had recently put Jordan on notice, saying Aldridge would compete for the job. But this wasn’t a competition. It was likely already determined by the time that Aldridge put his name on the dotted line. And the minute he was ready to go, he was in there.  

In Miami, Aldridge would’ve had to play behind star Bam Adebayo. In Brooklyn, there’s a star basically everywhere else — just not at center. 

Think about it — the Nets are 34-15, and have won 20 of their last 23 games. For the season, Jordan is minus-nine in the 1,022 minutes he’s played. The team is plus-239 in the 1,355 minutes he’s sat. So this is purely a performance-based demotion. By the way, Aldridge and Jordan are both represented by Excel Sports Management — as is fellow buyout addition Blake Griffin. The Aldridge signing may have come out of left-field, but Jordan’s role needed to change anyway. 

With Nicolas Claxton and Jeff Green both performing at a high level — and Kevin Durant getting close to a return — there simply isn’t enough minutes to go around, and Jordan became the odd-man out. Perhaps there is a matchup that suits him in the playoffs — like trying to contain the unguardable Joel Embiid or Anthony Davis. Or perhaps injuries change the situation. But for now, this rotation makes perfect sense. And, unlike last season, Jordan needs to be a professional about it for the betterment of the team. There’s too much on the line. 

On Thursday night, Aldridge anchored the defense, while serving as a post-facilitator on offense. His veteran savvy was obvious. He even showed off his perimeter jumper. The Nets hadn’t won by 20 or more points since Feb. 25. But in this one, they controlled the game from start to finish. 

James Harden remains day-to-day with a hamstring injury, while Durant (also hamstring) will be out through at least Monday, meaning 23 straight games and counting. Durant told reporters that his progress is encouraging, while also apologizing for his crude messages to actor Michael Rapaport. 

Durant has been a significant recruiter in putting this roster together, helping Brooklyn land Harden, Green, Aldridge and Griffin — while also endorsing the hiring of the rookie Nash. Of course, it was Durant who followed Kyrie Irving to the Nets in the first place, teaming up with his close friend. Jordan came too. 

The question was always whether Jordan’s more traditional game could still work in the modern NBA. But four years, $40 million wasn’t exactly a steep price to pay, with both Durant and Irving taking max deals. It just took some nimble cap gymnastics. Nearly halfway through the deal, Jordan’s future is unclear.

It’s still wild, really: James Dolan thought Irving and Durant were a guarantee. And Jordan was a New York Knick before hitting free agency. So if anyone knew that organization, it was the guy who made a brief cameo at Madison Square Garden. That’s worth noting. 

The starting center position has always been important to DeAndre Jordan. Just ask Kenny Atkinson and Jarrett Allen about that. But Jordan is no longer the No. 1 center on Brooklyn’s roster anymore. That job belongs to LaMarcus Aldridge now.