The Los Angeles Clippers want DeAndre Jordan back, and they’re pulling out all the stops to make it happen.
The center reportedly is “unsure” and “torn” about the four-year, $80-plus million deal he agreed to with the Dallas Mavericks, sources told ESPN’s Chris Broussard. And ESPN’s Marc Stein reported that the Clippers are capitalizing on those feelings by bypassing Jordan’s representatives and scheduling a face-to-face meeting with him Wednesday.
Sources told Stein that Clippers players, namely Blake Griffin and Chris Paul, have kept in contact with Jordan about his decision to pursue a max deal in Dallas. Griffin and Paul also reportedly joined owner Steve Ballmer and coach Doc Rivers on their trip to Jordan’s offseason home in Houston.
Paul’s presence is particularly interesting, as the point guard reportedly was a big part of why Jordan chose to leave Los Angeles in the first place.
Although it’s an unwritten rule in the NBA that free agents are off-limits for negotiating once they agree with a team, players can’t sign any contracts until the moratorium period ends Thursday. That means Jordan’s agreement with the Mavs is only a verbal one.
It would be morally sketchy if Jordan and the Clippers worked something out after he already told the Mavericks he would come to Dallas, but it’s still perfectly legal.
Thumbnail photo via Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports Images
