DeAndre Jordan? The Dallas Mavericks? Together again? This time for real?
Surely not.
Or, um, maybe yeah.
From The New York Times‘ Marc Stein:
Among the various options DeAndre Jordan has been weighing, according to league sources, is opting into the final season of his current contract (at $24.1 million) before Friday’s midnight deadline to facilitate a trade — with Dallas, sources say, among the teams interested
Well, damn. That’s certainly…something.
Stein also added this:
One source described a Jordan-to-Dallas trade as a “long shot” … but the fact it’s on the board is the strongest indication yet that the sides are willing to engage again after Jordan’s about-face in 2015 free agency when he committed to the Mavs and then went back to the Clips
Everyone remembers the history between these two parties. Jordan verbally agreed to join the Mavericks during 2015 free agency, only to renege on his commitment and pivot back to the Los Angeles Clippers. His indecision prompted an emoji-spree on Twitter, along with some wild rumors and totally awesome punch lines.
That the Mavericks might be interested in rekindling this flame says a lot about their direction. They traded up to draft Luka Doncic, a move that comes at the expense of a protected first-round pick that might convey next year. The implication, then, is that they’re interested in accelerating their rebuild and re-entering the playoff conversation as soon as possible.
Jordan jibes with that timeline. He’ll turn 30 in July and he fills an actual need for the Mavericks at center. Most mocks had them taking Mo Bamba at No. 5. But jumping up to third overall and snagging a wing leaves that void unfilled.
If this seems too bizarre to be true, it might be. Then again, the Mavericks gave up a fairly valuable first-round pick when they could have taken on the final two years of Kent Bazemore’s deal. Keeping Matthews and agreeing to top-five protection on next year’s selection supports this interest. Matthews’ expiring pact will be an interesting salary-matching tool in any trade, including this one—though, to be fair, Dallas will also have the cap flexibility to absorb Jordan outright if they play their cards right to start free agency.
Basically, this situation is worth monitoring. The Mavericks aren’t going to be the only suitor for Jordan if he opts into the final year of his deal with the intention of moving elsewhere, but they are set up to be among his most serious admirers once more.
