Mark Cuban May Finally Get His Long Desired Center After All
With today being the deadline for players to either opt in or opt out, while much of the focus was on Lebron, there was also DeAndre Jordan to factor in. If you remember, it was Jordan that was at the center of one of the most entertaining NBA free agency debacles the internet had ever seen when his teammates locked him in his house and refused to let him sign with Dallas. Jordan had signed an offer sheet with the Mavs and then at the last second changed his mind, ultimately signing a 4/87M extension to stay in LA. Well the fourth year was a player option, and considering the Clippers basically blew things up by trading Blake Griffin away, it’s no surprise that he turned down his $24M and is now on the open market. This is important because here we are three years later and guess who’s once again in the market for a big time center
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That’s right, Mark Cuban is back baby! And this time unfortunately we probably won’t need an emoji war to settle things. You may be asking yourself how the Mavs can afford a guy like Jordan if he’s going to be looking for close to max money. Well, in looking at their cap situation this summer it just so happens that they should have around $23M to spend. Then you also factor in that Dirk is fucking awesome
so the Mavs should have no problem if this is where Jordan decides he wants to go. This also means that you can most likely kiss goodbye to Nerlens Noel, but personally I love this potential move for the Mavs. I like the Jordan/Dirk/Barnes/Doncic/Smith Jr core, and considering what a gifted passer Doncic is, this is definitely going to be a League Pass must watch team if they are able to bring Jordan in.
For the Clippers, it now makes a little more sense as to why they traded for Marci Gortat. This will also free up money so they can potentially match any Harrell offer that might come in RFA, but anytime you lose a player like Jordan you’re obviously going to take a hit. Even in today’s NBA where it’s all about bigs who can stretch the floor, Jordan has found his niche and is probably a top 2 or 3 rim protecting big man left in the league. I’m excited to see what he would look like under Rick Carlisle, and suddenly a team that found itself in the Lottery this past season could definitely find itself in the playoffs if they are able to pull this signing out.
This is your reminder that if you thought NBA Free Agency was going to take a break so you could enjoy your weekend, well, you have not been paying attention. Let the games begin.