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League Wide Effects If DeAndre Jordan Reneges On Deal With Mavs?

By Tamberlyn Richardson

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Jordan Reneging Could Cause A Domino Effect

The Situation:

NBA Free Agency just got very interesting as the Los Angeles Clippers have made a hail Mary pass in an attempt to get DeAndre Jordan to meet with them once more. Their goal is to get Jordan to back out of the deal he cut with the Mavericks.

Mark Stein of ESPN reported on the situation, in his article: “Clips to meet with DeAndre Jordan, want center to back away from Mavs deal” Stein says Jordan is set to meet today with coach Doc Rivers, owner Steve Ballmer and apparently the player who has been the source of much finger pointing: Chris Paul. Stein also commented that Jordan has had some misgivings since making the decision.

Paul was on vacation with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade when the original meetings with Jordan took place. There was a photo circulating via social media of the 3 plus Wade’s Wife Actress Gabrielle Union which has been getting reposted with a few alterations:

DeAndre Jordan’s indecision has launched a million Photoshops http://t.co/7lN9QsQSdD pic.twitter.com/3pPxP0m6Qc

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) July 8, 2015

No doubt his good friend Blake Griffin has tried to lure him back and his team mate J.J. Redick was very demonstrative about his feelings. Yesterday Redick spoke on Bleacher Report Radio and his comments also aired on NBA TV’s Game Time last night:

“Listen, we had one priority this summer, and that was to re-sign D.J., and we missed out on that, …barring some miracle, [the] makeup of our team is completely different now.” – Redick

Paul Pierce is expected to be at the meeting with DeAndre Jordan today. (via @DanWoikeSports)

— NBA Legion (@MySportsLegion) July 8, 2015

The Moratorium Ends July 9th:

While players are free to have meetings with teams as of July 1st, the league doesn’t allow contracts to be signed until midnight on July 9th. During this 8  day period called the moratorium players and teams can meet and can verbally make agreements, however they cannot legalize the contracts until July 9th. So, there is time for the Clippers and Jordan to fix this situation, but you can bet there will be a pretty mad owner in Dallas if Jordan does renege. Perhaps Jordan is concerned about leaving so much money on the table, or maybe Chris Paul has finally said the right thing.

Many have commented on the strained situation between CP3 and Jordan, but I’m wondering if the loss to the Rockets in Game 6 is something none of the Clipper players have fully recovered from. I’m sure it contributed to Jordan’s thought process as it showcased how little chemistry the team has under duress.

Report: DeAndre Jordan reached out to Doc Rivers saying he had made a mistake, Clips confident they’ll bring him back http://t.co/b1HsK8tGjD

— Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) July 8, 2015

It’s Happened Before:

Should Jordan change his mind it won’t be the first time a situation like this has happened.  Current Clipper Hedo Turkoglu had agreed to a deal with the Portland Trail Blazers the summer following the Magic’s trip to the Finals. Turkoglu abruptly backed out to ink a deal with the team North of the border instead. Believe me, most Raptors fans wish he’d never reneged.

Implications:

The implications of what Jordan decides are huge. If he stays the course the Clippers are no doubt left with major issues to resolve given how much  of Los Angeles’ game revolves around the center. Certainly their defense would take the greatest hit, but Jordan is also a key part of the offense.

The real fireworks will occur if he chooses to back out of the deal as Dallas has made additional moves since Jordan gave his verbal agreement and stopped pursuing players to fill their front court needs. I can just see the tweets and hear the sound bites from Mark Cuban now if Jordan backs out.

While I’m sure they would be entertaining, in fairness Jordan agreed on Friday, so the Mavericks have lost 5 full days in which they could have been pursuing other options since then. Those lost days meant centers and power forwards were signed rapidly as teams who knew they had lost out on Jordan and the other 2 coveted front court players: LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Monroe began signing the next level power forwards and centers in a flurry.

Sources say Mavs owner Mark Cuban, at present, is the only team official in Houston as we speak but Chandler Parsons believed to be en route

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 8, 2015

17 Front Court Players Signed Since Jordan’s Decision:

Examining the list of front court players who’ve made agreements since Jordan’s decision there are some who wouldn’t have been available like Marc Gasol who knew he would get a max deal from Memphis. It’s also likely David West was awaiting the Aldridge decision, and wouldn’t have considered alternative locations as his decision was based on his best opportunity to win a ring (he left a minimum of $10.6M on the table).

But, many of the other 15 players could have been options for Dallas. Further they signed 4 of their free agents since Jordan’s decision and have been focusing their efforts elsewhere possibly seeking to add a starting point guard.

If Jordan does renege there literally could be a fall out by other players who decide to reconsider their contracts, especially if Dallas offers more money. At this point the only big of substance remaining on the free agent list is Enes Kanter. But what if Robin Lopez could be coerced to back out of his deal with New York or Kosta Koufos with the Kings?

Further, players backing out of verbal agreements wouldn’t have to be isolated to front court free agents. If for example Dallas could persuade Lopez to break his deal they would have more available funds to pursue upgrades in the front court and we could have an all out panic occurring across the Association.

You can bet there will be franchises armed with contracts and pens in hand sitting outside players homes and vacation locals waiting for the clock to strike midnight, so they don’t have to worry about the fall out.

Given Mark Cuban is one of the most vocal owners in the Association you can bet this will be a hot topic at the team meetings as it literally could affect the Mavericks season adversely. Adding salt to the wound Cuban already got fined $25,000 for discussing how the Mavericks intend to turn Jordan into the next Shaq, so in essence he could walk away today without Jordan, but having been fined for talking about having him on their squad!

Mark Cuban fined $25K for openly discussing Mavs looming deals w/ DeAndre Jordan & Wes Matthews. (via @ESPNSteinLine) pic.twitter.com/KickbP9cNS

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 7, 2015

Stein said Jordan “is leaning toward returning to Los Angeles”.

ESPN sources say that DeAndre Jordan has promised the Mavericks a face-to-tace meeting tonight before he makes a final decision

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 8, 2015

No one could have anticipated this situation happening, but one thing is for certain which ever team Jordan decides to join the other will be devastated and likely have a tough time making the playoffs. And Jordan can count on being booed loudly; whether it’s Clipper fans or Mavericks fans will be determined soon!

Stay with us at Space City Scoop as we keep you up to date on free agency, summer league and all things Rockets.

-Tamberlyn Richardson @TTOTambz

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