LeBron James had “the return” to Cleveland. DeAndre Jordan had, well, just another game against Dallas. Jordan never signed with the Mavericks this offseason, but the saga with him, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and the Clippers is well-documented.
Not surprisingly, Mavs fans haven’t taken too kindly to Jordan in recent months, with one fanatic going so far as to tell Jordan to “rot in hell” in a YouTube manifesto. Cuban hasn’t held back, either, essentially saying Jordan started the whole thing — but with more F-bombs:
Mark Cuban said he's not mad or bitter: "You f— with me, I like to f— with you back. That's just my nature so I'm having fun with it."
— Ben Bolch (@latbbolch) November 12, 2015
Anyway, the Clippers’ trip to Dallas is going about as one would expect. Fans are letting Jordan see it with several signs throughout the arena:
"This is gonna take a few years to get over" pic.twitter.com/sDHk3nc9Gf
— tim cato (@tim_cato) November 12, 2015
Fan sign inside American Airlines Center. pic.twitter.com/Oy33A5LwdT
— Ben Bolch (@latbbolch) November 12, 2015
DeAndre Jordan makes children sad. pic.twitter.com/5AI8k8D17w
— Scott Bell (@ScottBellDMN) November 12, 2015
They’re also letting him hear it with a chorus of “boos” every time he touches the ball. Mavs fans were even laughing during warm-ups when Jordan air-balled a free throw.
https://twitter.com/devenericksen/status/664609206478114816/video/1
Even the Dallas Morning News is getting in on the action:
Seems like this Dallas newspaper is ready for DeAndre Jordan's arrival tonight. (via The Dallas Morning News) pic.twitter.com/LPFOtCogRc
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 11, 2015
Obviously, things are tense. According to ESPN’s JA Adande, the NBA league office called about the video promo leading up to the game. In fairness, things are getting out of hand.
It’s in a sports fan’s – and even local homer media’s – nature to take business matters personally even though it in no way affects them. But it’s not like Jordan ever became a bona fide member of the Mavericks and then unceremoniously left. He backed out and stayed with the Clippers. Was it ugly? Yes. Was tonight’s reaction to be expected? Absolutely. But hopefully this is the last moment of genuine grudge-holding. Move on.
