Teams Are Allegedly Hesitant To Trade For DeAndre Jordan Without Him Committing To Opt In


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DeAndre Jordan has been on the trade block for more than two months, but the Clippers have yet to get into any serious discussions about trading their star center.

With Blake Griffin gone, L.A. is expected to try and unload Jordan and possibly Lou Williams before Thursday’s deadline, but what was once assumed to be a formality regarding dealing Jordan is now in question. There are two main reasons the Clippers are having difficulty finding a palatable deal for Jordan.

One is that they don’t want to take on a bad contract in return. This has been a sticking point regarding a deal with the Cavs, who can only really make the money work by sending Tristan Thompson and/or J.R. Smith, who each are owed a good bit of money through 2020, to L.A. Without the Brooklyn pick being involved in discussions, the Clippers aren’t too keen on adding that kind of long-term money for players that wouldn’t be part of the core of a rebuild.

The other issue that is reportedly stalling discussions with other teams that have interest in Jordan is the center’s reluctance to commit to opting in to his $24 million player option next season. According to NBA.com’s David Aldridge, teams like the Wizards and others won’t put the kind of assets on the table the Clippers want without such a commitment from Jordan.

All of these things are understandable, from every party involved. The Clippers would be better off just letting Jordan walk than taking on a bad, long-term deal in return. Jordan should absolutely keep the leverage his player option affords him for this summer, and teams shouldn’t be willing to part with major assets without that commitment. It’s smart business from everyone and the next 50 hours or so will be a staring contest to see if anyone blinks.

The Jordan situation is the perfect illustration of how difficult it is to make trades in the NBA, and why we hear a lot of rumors (that are usually legitimate in that there are conversations happening) but often see those rumors end up as nothing. A trade is, in theory, supposed to benefit every team involved in some way, either financially, creating future flexibility or improving their roster. With Jordan, it’s tough to ensure those things happen and that is why, to this point, there has been little movement towards a resolution.

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