It is said that at time the truth can be stranger than fiction.  This was certainly the case when star NBA Free Agent spurned the advances of the Dallas Mavericks and to many broke an “unwritten rule” in the league when he first committed and then had a change of heart to remain with the Los Angeles Clippers.  It was a move that enthralled the NBA and it’s fans and Twitter was ablaze with multitudes of hilarity relating back to the fiasco.

The world anxiously awaited the response from Mavericks owner Mark Cuban who was reportedly driving around Houston seeking an audience with Jordan.  A reports that proved to be one of falsehood by ESPN’s Chris Broussard.  Broussard has since apologized for the infraction but the validity of his “sources” will forever be questioned.

“Regarding my Wednesday report: I should have attempted to contact Mark Cuban before reporting what my sources were telling me,” Broussard said. “I always try to carry myself with honesty and integrity both personally and professionally. I recognize that I tweeted hastily, I’m sorry for it, and I will learn from my mistake.”

It certainly wasn’t the first time that a free agent has changed his mind and it won’t be the last.  Free agents past such as Carlos Boozer spurning the Cleveland Cavaliers and Hedo Turkoglu passing on the Portland Trail Blazers come to mind.  In reality what Jordan did was legal as far as the NBA’s moratorium period is concerned.  It’s a period that will now be called into question but the reality is that it really does benefit the players of the league.

The league’s moratorium is in place to allow teams and league officials to crunch the necessary numbers that have to be adjusted when the salary cap figures are set each off-season.  Also it gives teams and players alike a chance to throughly process offers/contracts that are handed out and simply put gives each franchise a chance to meet with desired players.   This will never change and at the end of the day is very player friendly.

Jordan’s return to the Clippers caught the ire of Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons who was instrumental in luring Jordan to begin with.  Parsons recently shared his unfiltered thoughts to ESPN recently:

“He wasn’t ready to be a franchise player. He was scared,” Parsons said. “He was scared to take the next step in his career. There was no other reason other than that he was comfortable and he has friendships there. How you make a business decision like that is beyond me. How you ignore an owner like Mark who is in your hometown just waiting for a chance to talk to you is beyond me.

“I don’t think he made a mistake. “I think he’ll be good in L.A. He’s got a good team, he’s got a great point guard, he’s got Blake, but I think he could have been a superstar in Dallas. He could have been the man in Dallas. Never in a million years did I think that this was even a possibility.

“I’ll still be friends with him, but I can’t get over the way that he’s put our entire franchise in jeopardy. It’s normal to get cold feet. It’s normal to get second thoughts, but you don’t back out of a commitment of this much magnitude this late in the game and just leave us high and dry.”

Jordan took to Twitter Friday to apologize to Mark Cuban and the Mavericks organization but there’s no words to describe the response from Cuban who in a sense dismissed the apology as baseless and not genuine.

I want to publicly apologize to one of the best owners in the world @MCuban, the @DallasMavs and their fans.

— DeAndre Jordan (@deandrejordan6) July 11, 2015

I am humbled by @DallasMavs & @MCuban kindness and understanding. I am sorry to have a change of heart.

— DeAndre Jordan (@deandrejordan6) July 11, 2015

 

Cuban Fired Back 

Dear Mavs fans. When is an apology not an apology? When you didn’t write it yourself. Next

More importantly, we are excited to have traded for Zaza. He needs just one name.

We have been trying to trade for Zaza and finally were able to pull the trigger. He is a good rebounder and in the hard to believe category, he shoots the 15 foot pick and pop jumper at the same level as …. Dirk

Look it up!

He is physical and fired up to be coming to Dallas. So when you see him, give him a +letsgomavs

And our summer league team kicks of their season today at 1 pm pst. I’m excited to see JAnderson start his Mavs career.

Hardwood Your Thoughts?

Justin Benjamin

With more money on the table and a far better team to compete for a title, the Clippers should have always been the favorites to sign DeAndre Jordan.  Despite the verbal agreement with the Mavericks, the Clippers convinced their center to come back as Jordan spurned the Mavericks and re-signed with the Clippers, a move that has earned him a lot of criticism and far less respect. In addition to re-signing Jordan, the Clippers added a future Hall-of-Famer in Paul Pierce, offensive ball handler in Lance Stephenson and Wesley Johnson, who should add much-needed depth to that bench. The Clippers now look like a heavy favorite to win the West, a potentially big reason why Jordan stayed, but the Clippers also appear to be one of the most disliked teams in the NBA for the upcoming season due to the indecisive and unprofessional move from Jordan.

Aiden Setter

My opinion over the whole DeAndre Jordan drama over the past week is simple; the Clippers are not at fault, he is not at fault, and the Mavericks cannot say that the Clippers were being dirty by convincing Jordan to come back. There is a reason why the NBA doesn’t allow players to sign contracts until a certain date after free agency has begun. It is to allow players and front offices to second guess themselves and back out of the contract. Jordan had a right to do what he did. Yes, he probably could’ve handled the situation a bit better by contacting Dallas. From what I understand though, that is the job of the player’s agent. So in that respect, Jordan did nothing wrong. He had second guesses and changed his mind. Haven’t we all changed our mind on a decision before? I know I have and that is why I wouldn’t hold anything against him if I were a Mavericks fan. You may want to hate him for it but don’t. It was all allowed under the system. Just remember to not hate the player, hate the game.

Peter Saclarides

DeAndre Jordan spurning the Mavs and re-signing with the Clippers at the last second was plain childish. To give your word to one team, then refuse to answer their phone calls, and re-sign with the team you were going to leave is wrong. When it was first announced that Jordan had verbally agreed to sign with Dallas, I thought it was the wrong move. Leaving $30 million on the table to go from a championship contender to a playoff contender just to be the face of the franchise seemed like a bad choice. I believe DJ would’ve struggled offensively on the Mavs without an elite point guard like Chris Paul. For a few days, I, alongside other baffled NBA fans, wondered why DeAndre signed with Dallas, until it was reported that DeAndre was reconsidering signing back with LA. Had Jordan’s agreement with the Mavs not been so heavily reported, maybe we wouldn’t have cared so much that he went back to LA, but, everyone interested in the NBA knew where DeAndre was supposed to have gone, so him spurning Dallas last second just caused more attention. Showing NBA fans what a childish move DeAndre had made.

Michael Franz

As the we know everything in life evolves and grows. Sometimes at a slow pace, sometimes faster although sometimes good and sometimes bad. We all have to make adjustments to those opportunities. We learn from those situations. If we didn’t, life would be quite boring wouldn’t you think? I like to refer those as “Growing Pains” and every one of us goes through it. This past week, The NBA went through its own “Growing Pain” and his name is DeAndre Jordan. With one simple decision (or indecision, depending on how you look at it) he not only put himself into a light less traveled but also may change the NBA and how Free Agency process works. My view is a rather grey one as I can respect both sides. He left a lot of money on the table to be the focus of a team that will be rebuilding in the Dallas Mavericks who really received the short end of the stick once all is said and done.

He definitely displayed a side that I would consider as immature and selfish. What have we come to if a handshake means absolutely nothing? A man’s word apparently means nothing these days which is sad because it doesn’t allow trust and relationship building. When he becomes a free agent in 5 years, who will come knocking down his door? There will be teams but not as many thus shortening his opportunities. The NBA will need to adjust moratorium from here on out because the Dallas Mavericks have now been pushed back a couple of years and for them, that’s not right.

There has to be some form of morals involved along with business ethics. Had Jordan just said he will stay in LA, Dallas could have pursued Roy Hibbert as their Center just as 1 example or at least started somewhere for their future. They lost Monta Ellis, Rajon Rondo, Tyson Chandler, and not mention Dirk is getting old. All they have is Chandler Parsons. Speaking of Chandler Parsons, I would have to agree with him when he stated Jordan is “scared”. If you had such a bad relationship with your Point Guard and you think you should be featured on the team more than Blake Griffin, why would you go back? 2 reasons, the money or you have more to rely on in case you fail since they will be there to catch him. As a fan, do you think the Mavericks and the team they would have had with DeAndre would have been competitive when he shoots 10-28 FTs? Probably not and that was only in 1 half against the Rockets this post season. The Clippers had his back as a team and still they  went into halftime with a 60-54 lead in that game. Safe to say, as much as he has his selfish reasons not to have good relationships with his teammates, he actually NEEDS them. So my personal opinion as the primary reason was money. He left $13 mil on the table and for that, like Kevin Hart stated, “Do you Boo Boo, Do you”. I wish him well and hope it works out for the best but unless he learns the meaning of ethics, we may have some more things to talk about in the near future.