DeAndre Jordan has spent the entirety of his seven-year career with the Clippers, and while he may not be the Defensive Player of the Year candidate Doc Rivers has made him out to be, he had a breakout season that will have plenty of teams interested when he becomes an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of this season.
Jordan led the league in rebounding with an average of 15 per game finished at the top of the leaderboard in field goal percentage with an absurd 71 percent, and finished fourth in blocked shots with an average of 2.23 per contest.
He’s a max contract-level player under the circumstances, but especially so considering the spike we’ll see in the salary cap in advance of the 2016-17 season.
The Clippers will certainly come calling with a five-year deal that only they can offer. But Jordan has already stated his desire to look around a bit, and if the latest report is to be believed, the Dallas Mavericks may be a very real option.
From Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas:Another potential prize summer target for the Mavs: Clippers center DeAndre Jordan, who multiple sources say has made it clear through back channels that he will be extremely interested in coming to Dallas. Signing the 26-year-old Jordan, a dominant physical force who led the league in rebounding and field-goal percentage this season, would mean letting the 32-year-old Tyson Chandler leave again after another one-season stint with the Mavs.
“That’s up to management and what they decide to do,” Chandler said of his possible future in Dallas as he enters free agency, adding that his preference would be to return to the Mavs.
Jordan is a fantastic two-way player, and his athleticism creates problems for teams on both ends of the floor. He’ll be able to dictate the terms of his next contract, but there’s a legitimate decision to be made.
If he’s interested in earning the most guaranteed money possible at this moment, then signing the full five-year max that the Clippers can offer is the way to go. Or, if he’d rather sign a shorter deal to later take advantage of the rising salary cap and ultimately earn more in the future, that could open up any team as a possibility -- and that obviously includes the Mavericks.
