The Dallas Mavericks apparently don’t have any interest in trying to sign DeAndre Jordan this summer if he opts out of the final year of his contract with the Los Angeles Clippers. I wonder why.
From the Dallas Morning News‘ Eddie Sefko:
What do you make of this DeAndre Jordan chatter? Would the Mavs seriously be interested?
Sefko: I’ve been told no. While you never say never in the NBA, this would be akin to having your wife leave you with half of everything you own, only to get flirty with you again so she could come back and get the other half of everything you own.
This is a joke, people. The way Jordan punctured the franchise in his last free-agent summer, my ego would not allow me to even consider the idea of signing him now. And my ego isn’t as big as Mark Cuban’s.
There’s an element of “Um, duh” to this. Yes, the Mavericks always seem to have a thing for big-name free-agent centers. But Jordan already spurned them once, back in 2015. Why would they want to get in bed with him again? Especially now, as he approaches his 30th birthday and is already past his athletic peak?
Besides which, this whole “the Mavericks need a big man” trope is pretty bizarre. Should they consider guys like Mohamed Bamba or Jaren Jackson Jr. if they’re sitting there at No. 5 in the draft? Absofreakinglutely. But the Mavericks don’t need a 5. Dirk Nowitzki needs to play center these days, and Dwight Powell is coming off a career year.
Dallas, remember, is a squad in the infancy of a rebuild. This idea that it should throw money at Jordan—or DeMarcus Cousins—is pretty shortsighted. If the price is right, sure, the Mavericks can explore adding veterans and accelerating their timeline. But they don’t need to approach this year’s free-agency landscape with a sense of urgency.
And they most definitely don’t need to forgive and forget when it comes to DeAndre.
