Dallas Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban did not accept DeAndre Jordan’s apology.
“When is an apology not an apology?” Cuban wrote Saturday via Cyber Dust. “When you didn’t write it yourself. Next”
Jordan violated an unwritten NBA rule by backing out of an oral commitment to sign with the Mavericks, instead opting to return to the Clippers, where he had spent his entire seven-season career.
Cuban detailed how it went down over Cyber Dust on Friday, saying he went to Jordan’s home in Houston when he heard the center was having second thoughts about coming to the Mavericks. According to Cuban, Jordan said he was out on a date, then stopped responding to the owner’s texts.
Turns out Jordan’s ‘date’ was actually Blake Griffin, as J.J. Redick later revealed in an interview with Grantland.
Jordan had reached out to Clippers coach Doc Rivers and Griffin, expressing doubt over leaving the Clippers. So both men — along with team owner Steve Ballmer, Chris Paul, Redick and Paul Pierce — went to Jordan’s home on Wednesday to persuade the center to renege on his word to Cuban and sign with the Clippers when the moratorium ended that evening.
Jordan went on to sign with the Clippers and never contacted Cuban to tell him about his change of heart. Rivers defended Jordan on Thursday, saying that the center had no obligation to contact Cuban.
“Typically, when free agents leave, their agent calls,” Rivers said. “In our case, DJ was with us for seven years, and when he first decided to leave, his agent called me. … I’ve been turned down more than a freshman kid at a college bar, and I have yet to be turned down by the actual player.”
Jordan tweeted an apology to Cuban on Friday for his handling of the situation.
“I want to publicly apologize to one of the best owners in the world (at)MCuban, the (at)DallasMavs and their fans,” tweeted Jordan, who signed a four-year, $87.6-million contract with the Clippers.
He added in a second tweet, “I am humbled by (at)DallasMavs &(at)MCuban kindness and understanding. I am sorry to have a change of heart.”
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