Doc Rivers and the Clippers have made it abundantly clear that re-signing unrestricted free agent DeAndre Jordan is their number one priority this off-season. Now that the NBA Draft is over, they can turn their full attention to doing just that.
The Clippers ended up purchasing the 56th pick in Thursday’s Draft from the Pelicans, and with it they chose Michigan State’s Branden Dawson, who at 6-foot-6 is an undersized power forward who doesn’t offer much immediate help.
Los Angeles would like to keep their core unit of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and Jordan together for the foreseeable future, but rumors continue to surface about an alleged rift between Paul and Jordan, although Rivers and the Clips have adamantly refuted those whispers. Regardless, Jordan is set to enter unrestricted free agency on July 1 and and there have been other whispers that he is eager to step into a new situation.
Fortunately for the Clippers, they can still offer him the most money, more specifically a max deal worth about $108 million over five years. But Jordan also has the option of signing a short-term deal with an opt-out clause after next season. The only problem is that several other teams around the league will be courting his services and could potentially offer him more of what he wants basketball-wise which, according to unnamed sources around the league, is a larger role in the offense.
One of those teams is the Dallas Mavericks, who may have a secret weapon in a certain pitch man who has successfully lured other big-name players away from the Los Angeles market in the past: Chandler Parsons. Here’s more from Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times:
“Dallas Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons has been recruiting Jordan, the officials said. The two have been hanging out together in Jordan’s hometown of Houston.
When free agency starts at 9:01 p.m. PDT Tuesday, Jordan will be home in Houston.
The officials said four teams will visit Jordan at home — the Clippers, Lakers, Mavericks and Milwaukee Bucks.”
The Lakers could be a sleeper choice here since they have a healthy amount of cap space and, after passing up Jahlil Okafor in the draft in favor of point guard D’Angelo Russell, could be in the market for a defensive-minded big man to pair with Julius Randle in the frontcourt. But with scorers like Kobe Bryant, Randle, and Jordan Clarkson already on the roster, it’s highly unlikely the Lakers would offer him the increased offensive role he apparently desires.
The Bucks already have a logjam in the frontcourt with Miles Plumlee, John Henson, and Zaza Pachulia, as well as other primary scorers in Giannis Antetokounmp and Jabari Parker. The Mavericks, on the other hand, might be an intriguing choice. Amar’e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler, and Dirk Nowitzki are all barreling toward the end of their careers, and Jordan would be a great upgrade for them in that department.
