Finding Jordan: Mavericks are saved in free agency

They got off to a really rocky start. But, man, didn’t the Dallas Mavericks bounce back nicely in the first few days of free agency?

After losing Tyson Chandler, Monta Ellis and Al-Farouq Aminu early in free agency, the Mavs recovered handsomely and received contract commitments from Portland Trail Blazers shooting guard Wesley Matthews and Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan.

And just think, had Jordan not been secured, the Mavericks franchise probably would have taken a drastic turn for the worse.

If no Jordan, the Mavs likely would have been better off losing games on purpose this coming season to better their chances of getting a higher position in the draft. And a slow-moving Roy Hibbert at center wouldn’t have been the answer.

Now, that prospect matters not.

The Mavs had a pretty solid team in 2013-14 and were only an eighth seed after winning 49 games. And they had a pretty solid team last season and were only a seventh seed after winning 50 games.

That’s how difficult it is for teams trying to conduct business in the always rugged Western Conference. It’s no walk in the park.

But what a difference one player has made for the Mavs. Especially a player of Jordan’s caliber.

It’s like someone opened all the doors in American Airlines Center and blew in a huge dose of fresh air.

Although Jordan joins the Mavs devoid of any championship rings, he is an elite player with elite credentials. He commands respect with his wide WWE-like body, and he controls the paint like no other player in the NBA today.

And Jordan has some nastiness about him, which is good. Unless, as of Friday, you’re a Mavs opponent.

Jordan, who turns 27 on July 21, led the NBA the past two seasons in both rebounds and field-goal percentage. The only player in league history who has done that more is the incomparable Wilt Chamberlain, who accomplished that feat eight times.

In essence, Jordan is a big, strong and mean rebounding machine with a menacing scowl. He will restore order in the court in the middle — probably a tad better than Tyson Chandler did during his pair of one-year tenures in Dallas.

“We see him as Shaq-like, but never having been given the opportunity,” owner Mark Cuban told radio station KTCK The Ticket. “We told him if he came to the Mavs he would be a focal point, he would grow into being a franchise player.”

That’s because the Mavs’ current franchise player, Dirk Nowitzki, has said that at age 37, he shouldn’t be the team’s go-to guy anymore. Well, the door is now wide open for Jordan to become that go-to guy with Ellis off dribbling basketballs in Indiana.

For Jordan, having a play drawn for him in the clutch was never going to happen with the Clippers. Not as long as Chris Paul and Blake Griffin were his teammates.

“We told him that you’re capable of being a 20-20 guy,” Cuban said. “You’ve just not been given the opportunity.”

The Clippers had Jordan in a co-starring role. As the third star.

And Jordan desired to be the star. The leading man. The player carrying the pressure.

Those promises were made to Jordan during the Mavs’ recruiting process last week. Thus, the precious keys to the Mavs’ franchise changed hands with Friday’s news that the 6-foot-11, 265-pound man-child was coming to Dallas.

More than anything, Jordan put the Mavs on the map as being a destination where big-fish free agents can come and play. And maybe, just maybe, this could be the beginning of something wonderful for the Mavs.

Maybe the next time marquee players such as LeBron James, Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony allow the Mavs’ top brass an audience during free agency, they’ll do what Jordan did: give the Mavs a commitment instead of a cold shoulder.

The Jordan acquisition, coupled with Matthews choosing Dallas in free agency, represent franchise-changing moves for the Mavs.

In the four seasons since winning the NBA title in 2011 and then breaking up that team, the Mavs have missed the playoffs once and been bounced in the first round the other three times. Not exactly shining moments on the résumé.

“You can’t win a championship if you don’t get out of the first round,” Nowitzki said. “And I think for that, you almost need home-court advantage [in at least the first round].

“It’s tough to make a championship run from the seventh, eighth seed, or the sixth seed.’’

That championship run becomes easier when you have a marquee player in his prime. And that marquee player is DeAndre Jordan.

“LA is a city where everybody thinks they’re a star, and it’s hard to stand out,” Cuban said. “In Dallas, it’s Jordan Spieth, the Cowboys, Mavs, Rangers, and Stars, and that’s it.”

Jordan, Cuban said, will “really get a chance to show off his personality, and Mavs fans are going to love him.”

And they’ll treat him like the star that he is.

This story was originally published July 4, 2015 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Finding Jordan: Mavericks are saved in free agency."