DeAndre Jordan agrees to free-agent deal with Mavericks
The holiday fireworks started a day early for the Dallas Mavericks.
Trying to fill their cupboard this off-season after losing some of their top players via free agency, the Mavs reached verbal agreements Friday with Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan and Portland Trail Blazers shooting guard Wesley Matthews.
Jordan agreed to a four-year, $81 million contract with the Mavs, while Matthews will sign a four-year deal worth $57 million. Matthews is a major addition, but Jordan is the type of franchise-changing acquisition that could help get the Mavs back in the championship conversation.
An agreement was also reached Friday with forward Richard Jefferson to return for his second season at the veteran minimum.
Jordan is the first so-called “big fish” — a top-flight free agent from another team — that the Mavs have signed in their 35-year history.
Over the past two seasons, Jordan, known for his lob dunks, led the NBA in rebounding and field-goal percentage. The only player who has accomplished that feat more than Jordan is Wilt Chamberlain, who did it eight times in his career.
The 6-foot-11, 265-pound Jordan fills the spot vacated by Tyson Chandler, a fan favorite who agreed to a four-year, $52 million contract with the Phoenix Suns this week.
Matthews moves into the starting spot held the past two years by Monta Ellis, who will sign a four-year, $44 million deal with the Indiana Pacers.
Jordan woke up Friday morning after narrowing his choices to the Mavs and Clippers. A few pointers helped tip the scales in the Mavs’ favor:
▪ Jordan had grown tired of being third billing on the Clippers’ Hollywood marquee behind All-Stars Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. He believes his growth was stunted in his quest to become an All-Star.
▪ Mavs coach Rick Carlisle explained to Jordan during his recruiting pitch how he could make him a featured player in his offense, especially since 37-year-old Dirk Nowitzki said at his age he should no longer be the team’s go-to player.
▪ Jordan reportedly had a poor relationship with Paul that had become so sour it was beyond repair.
▪ Jordan was extremely impressed that Nowitzki left an important family vacation to fly to Los Angeles to be part of the Mavs’ contingent that recruited him.
“He wasn’t blown away with the Clippers meeting,” a source told the Star-Telegram about Jordan. “And him and CP3 are just not hitting it off. He wanted to do something different, and didn’t want to be the third wheel anymore.”
With the Mavs, Jordan, who can opt out of his contract in July 2018, certainly shouldn’t have any problem getting his share of touches.
The Mavs had been deflated during the early stages of free agency, when Chandler surprised them by agreeing to a multiyear contract with the Suns. Management had assumed Chandler would still be on the board while the Mavs got their most pressing free-agent needs out of the way.
But the Mavs bounced back by first receiving a commitment from Matthews, and then Jordan in perhaps one of the biggest days in franchise history.
Jordan is easily the NBA’s best defensive-minded center. The seven-year veteran led the league in rebounding (15 rpg) and field-goal shooting (71 percent) this past season, finished fourth in blocks (2.23), and tied for third in double-doubles (47). He averaged a modest 11.5 points per game.
Born in Houston, Jordan graduated from Christian Life Center Academy in Humble, and played his college basketball at Texas A&M. Jordan, who turns 27 on July 21, played only the 2007-08 season for the Aggies before declaring for the NBA Draft.
The Clippers saw potential in Jordan and made him the 35th overall pick of the 2008 draft. Before joining the Mavs, Jordan had spent his entire career with the Clippers, where this past season he was chosen third-team All-NBA and first-team All-Defense.
Matthews is the defensive-minded shooting guard who can also score whom the Mavs have been coveting for quite some time. The 6-5, 220-pounder is one of the NBA’s best “3-and-D” players.
In five seasons with the Blazers, Matthews, who turns 29 on Oct. 14, became the franchise’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made with 826 and converted 39.4 percent from beyond the arc.
Unfortunately, the signing of Matthews also comes with a caveat.
During a March 5 home game against the Mavs, Matthews suffered a season-ending torn left Achilles tendon. But Matthews, who averaged 15.9 points this past season, was back on the court about 12 weeks after surgery and apparently is ahead of schedule in the rehab process.
That’s welcome news for the Mavs, who can roll out Jordan, Nowitzki, Parsons and Matthews as their starters next fall. They still need a starting point guard, however.
J.J. Barea, Mo Williams, Jeremy Lin and Nick Calathes are among the free-agent point guards the Mavs are considering. In an emergency situation, the Mavs know they can turn to either Devin Harris or Raymond Felton to start at point guard.
Dwain Price, 817-390-7760
Twitter: @dwainprice
Face-lift
The Dallas Mavericks have a roster in flux. How it has changed so far this off-season:
Departures | |
Player | Team |
G, Monta Ellis | Indiana |
C, Tyson Chandler | Phoenix |
F, Al-Farouq Aminu | Portland |
Arrivals | |
Player | Team |
C, DeAndre Jordan | LA Clippers |
G, Wesley Matthews | Portland |
F, Justin Anderson * | U. of Virginia |
C, Satnam Singh * | IMG Academy |
F, Richard Jefferson ** | Dallas |
* Draft pick
** Re-signed free agent
This story was originally published July 3, 2015 at 8:27 AM with the headline "DeAndre Jordan agrees to free-agent deal with Mavericks."