By now you all know DeAndre Jordan will be joining the Dallas Mavericks in a surprise free agency turn from yesterday that has ripple effects throughout the Western Conference. The Clippers are now stuck with zero cap room and no presence at the rim to waylay those pesky driving guards. The Mavs, with the addition of Jordan and off-guard Wesley Matthews in free agency, are suddenly looking a lot more likely playoff challengers to the Spurs and Warriors than the Clippers did before July started.
So how did we get here? What caused Jordan to leave Doc, his good friend Blake Griffin and the rest of his Clippers mates in the lurch? A piece published last night by Kevin Arnovitz for ESPN tracks DJ’s mindset in the lead to his Dallas decision.
Perhaps the most glaring snippet from Arnovitz’s excellent column comes when we get a glimpse into the decision-making process of the 7-foot Jordan, who appears to partially blame Chris Paul for a feeling of neglect. It seems Paul was using the most powerful currency of all, high-fives, to motivate Jordan to do better. DJ, for his part, didn’t take kindly to his lack of on-court DAP.
The core of the team had been together for more than three years, and tempers were wearing thin. Jordan and Chris Paul had gotten into it more than once, which led Jordan to start seriously contemplating what it might be like to play elsewhere in 2015-16.
He was tired of Paul’s constant barking and petty gestures, like distributing high-fives to the three other guys on the floor following a timeout but somehow freezing out Jordan. Optics aside, the biggest issue for Jordan was that, despite the leaps and bounds he made to be named first team all-defense, the Clippers always treated him like the player he was when he arrived in the NBA, and never like the player he’d become.
There were other reasons Jordan chose Dallas: Mark Cuban (and presumably coach, Rick Carlisle) promised to feature him more in the Mavericks’ offensive sets, claiming he would average 20 points and 20 rebounds per game. Cuban and Co. also pointed out to Jordan that he only averaged 0.8 post-ups per game with the Clippers last year, something that wouldn’t happen if he signed in Dallas.
Cuban and Chandler Parsons wined and dined DJ and told him what he wanted to hear. Most of it was probably even true, but there was a reason Jordan was relegated to defense and rebounding in LA: Chris Paul and Blake Griffin needed most of the touches, and J.J. Redick should have gotten most of the rest (with a sprinkling of Jamal Crawford isolations mixed in).
Whether the now-former Clippers center can really be Wilt Chamberlain remains to be seen, but Cuban has to be applauded for landing a second coveted free agent this summer, while simultaneously wounding a rival in the West by snagging LA’s only true defensive presence