In a stunning reversal involving impassioned 11th-hour pleas from teammates, a Twitter war of emojis and a midnight home stakeout, DeAndre Jordan decided he wanted to remain with the only NBA team he has known, the Los Angeles Clippers.
The free-agent center backed out of a five-day commitment to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, agreeing to re-sign with the Clippers during one of the wildest days in franchise history.
The Clippers re-signed Jordan for four years. He can opt out of the contract after the third year.
The strange sequence hit a dramatic climax when a contingent of Clippers players and executives remained at Jordan’s home in Houston until midnight EDT to stave off any last-minute attempts by Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to persuade Jordan to fulfill his pledge to sign with the Mavericks.
Jordan had agreed Friday to sign a four-year, $80 million contract with the Mavericks, but the commitment could not become binding until Jordan signed with the team.
He started having second thoughts not long after making his vow and reached out Monday to Clippers coach Doc Rivers and forward Blake Griffin, who were among a traveling party that also included team owner Steve Ballmer and players Chris Paul, J.J. Redick and Paul Pierce. Paul, whose strained relationship with Jordan contributed to Jordan’s initial decision to leave the Clippers, rerouted his itinerary to make the meeting after concluding a vacation in the Bahamas.
There are no formal NBA rules against players backing out of commitments, but it is widely frowned upon because it disrupts plans made by teams throughout the league.
Dallas has been famously spurned during free agency before. Point guard Jason Kidd backed out of a commitment to re-sign with the Mavericks in 2012 to play for the New York Knicks. Other players who reneged on commitments included Carlos Boozer, who spurned the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Utah Jazz in 2004, and Hedo Turkoglu, who backed out of a commitment to the Portland Trail Blazers to sign with the Toronto Raptors in 2009.
The Clippers had long made it clear that keeping Jordan, the All-NBA third-team center and a member of the league’s all-defensive first team who had been with the Clippers since they drafted him in the second round in 2008, would be the focus of their free-agency plans. They appeared to have increased their odds of retaining him after trading for Lance Stephenson and agreeing to sign Pierce, a veteran small forward with a championship pedigree.
After they initially failed to secure a commitment from Jordan, the Clippers disappointed not only their fans but Redick, who gave them a failing grade for their efforts in free agency during an interview with Bleacher Report Radio.
Clippers players did not attend their team’s first pitch meeting with Jordan, having made their desire for him to re-sign known individually. But they were utilizing nearly all modes of transportation to reach Houston on Wednesday.
Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons touched off a Twitter war of emojis when he tweeted one of an airplane, suggesting he was en route to meet with Jordan. That prompted Redick to respond with a car emoji since he could presumably have driven to Houston from his home in Austin, Texas.
Players were just starting to get creative. Griffin, who was returning from a Hawaiian vacation, tweeted emojis of an airplane, a helicopter and a car. Paul joined the fun when he tweeted emojis of a banana and a boat, a reference to the banana boat he rode earlier this week in the Bahamas. Clippers assistant coach Mike Woodson weighed in with a swimming emoji and Pierce, who at 37 was apparently unsure how to attach an emoji, instead inserted a picture of a rocket ship.
Griffin later tweeted a picture of a chair wedged against a doorknob inside Jordan’s home with the caption, “Don’t agree with the furniture layout but I’m not an interior designer.”
Dallas had initially impressed Jordan with its relentless pursuit as well as plans to make him a focal point of its offense. One league executive said the Clippers were not happy the Mavericks were granted a dinner with Jordan in addition to a formal pitch meeting once the free-agency process started last week.
But Jordan had never commented publicly since making his initial pledge to play for the Mavericks, even as Cuban drew a $25,000 fine from the NBA for saying he envisioned Jordan being “Shaq-like” with his new team.
Cuban acknowledged defeat Wednesday evening, informing team employees that Jordan would return to the Clippers.
Jordan’s Twitter profile still featured a picture of him dunking in a Clippers jersey, something that will apparently happen once again after his dramatic decision to return on a day unlike any other in NBA history.
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