Stunned Mavericks’ next post-Jordan move: New Tank City?
A day after being stunned that center DeAndre Jordan changed his mind and decided he no longer wanted to play for them, the Dallas Mavericks closed ranks and took the high road on an issue that has rocked the 35-year-old franchise.
Jordan met with several members of the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday at his off-season home in Houston, and was scheduled to meet with Mavs owner Mark Cuban and forward Chandler Parsons later that night.
But after meeting with the Clippers, he never answered phone calls or text messages from his agent, Dan Fegan, or from Cuban and Parsons.
When the NBA’s moratorium was lifted at 11:01 p.m. CDT Wednesday, Jordan signed a four-year, $88 million contract with the Clippers — the team he has spent his eight-year NBA career with. That came less than a week after Jordan flip-flopped on an oral commitment to the Mavs on a four-year, $84 million contract.
Jordan’s decision basically puts the Mavs in rebuilding mode.
On Cyber Dust, Cuban wrote: “Dear Mavs fans. There will be a time when I detail everything I know regarding the last 48 hours. I don’t think the time is right to say anything beyond the facts that [Jordan] never responded to me at all yesterday. Not once.
“To this minute I have not heard anything from him since Tuesday night.”
After the Mavs’ summer league practice Thursday morning at American Airlines Center, coach Rick Carlisle told reporters that players wouldn’t discuss Jordan and free agency. He also said Cuban would be the only person in the Mavs’ organization addressing those issues.
“I’m going to just make one statement,” Carlisle said. “The situation with free agency is that, from where we’re looking right now, [shooting guard] Wesley Matthews is in town, he’s getting his physical, he’s going to sign today.
“[Guard] J.J. Barea’s physical is done. He’s going to sign today.”
Carlisle went on to say: “Anything else involving free agency is going to be Mark talking about it, and he’s the only one that’s going to be authorized to do that. I just wanted to make that clear.
“Any questions for any of these players would have to pertain to summer league. Anything involving free agency and the questions you guys are all here to ask is off limits. That’s just how we’re going to do business with this thing.”
This “thing” has all sorts of ramifications. For starters, since this all took place at the NBA moratorium deadline, the Mavs can’t regroup in time to try to sign other top or mid-level free agents.
As a side note, the Mavs sent a protected 2016 first-round draft pick to the Boston Celtics last Dec. 18 as part of the trade that brought Rajon Rondo to Dallas. That pick is protected from draft selections one-through-seven.
If the Mavs wind up with a No. 8 pick or higher in 2016, that selection will go to the Celtics.
The Mavs wouldn’t have cared about the pick if they had been able to land Jordan. But now, that draft pick is important for a team playing in the competitive Western Conference.
Jordan’s actions have prompted a call for the NBA to change the free agency signing period..
Cuban contacted Matthews, who played last season for the Portland Trail Blazers, to see if he wanted to change his mind.
“More importantly, I specifically told Wes that I would not hold him to his commitment if he wanted to go somewhere else,” Cuban wrote on Cyber Dust. “I can’t print his exact response, but suffice it to say he is excited to play for our Mavs.
“Wes Matthews is exactly the type of player we want in a Mavs uniform and our fans will love him.”
Meanwhile, DeAndre Jordan has become public enemy No. 1 in Dallas.
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Mavs’ options are limited
▪ Winning in the West is hard even for good teams. The devastated Mavs might consider starting an immediate rebuild. That would mean avoiding salaries over the NBA minimum and losing, a lot of losing. This would be a race to the bottom with a goal of the highest possible pick in the 2016 draft.
▪ The Mavs could repeat 2011-12 when they cobbled spare parts into a team that finished just over .500.
▪ With plenty of salary cap space, the Mavs can try to acquire players that become available at the trade deadline. Trades, not the draft, have been the Mavs’ preferred method of improving their team.
▪ If they go in the tank, go headfirst. Next year’s first-round pick goes to Boston unless it is in the top seven. With Chandler Parsons (knee) and Wesley Matthews (Achilles) recovering from off-season surgeries, maybe extending their recovery a little deeper into the season would be prudent.
This story was originally published July 9, 2015 at 6:17 PM with the headline "Stunned Mavericks’ next post-Jordan move: New Tank City?."