Outside of LeBron James and Paul George, there is arguably no more impactful free agent on the market this summer than DeAndre Jordan, who on Friday declined his $24.1 player option with the Los Angeles Clippers and will hit the open market at 12:01 a.m. ET on Sunday.
In the aftermath of the Clippers' Tuesday trade of Austin Rivers to the Washington Wizards for center Marcin Gortat, it appears all but certain that Jordan will be playing elsewhere next season. There's one team that looks to be the most likely to sign the star center. But he has plenty of options on the table, and there are several franchises that could make sense as landing spots.
Dallas Mavericks
Three summers after the infamous Emoji War in which Jordan backed out of an agreement to sign with Dallas to return to the Clippers, the Mavericks appear to be the heavy favorites to land the center.
As ESPN.com's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Friday, the Clippers and Mavericks had conversations about trade packages for Jordan before he made his decision to opt out, but they were not able to come to an agreement.
With Jordan a free agent, the path is clear for him to finally join the Mavericks. Dallas can open up as much as $30 million in cap space, which will be more than enough to sign Jordan outright, and he fills a clear need on their roster as a rim protector.
Jordan fits perfectly onto a Mavs team looking to be competitive again after two seasons in the lottery. He has tremendous potential as a pick-and-roll partner for the young backcourt of 2018 first-rounder Luka Doncic and Dennis Smith Jr., and his defensive prowess inside can complement Harrison Barnes and Wesley Matthews on the wing. A lot can change before Sunday, but at this point, it would be a surprise if Jordan ended up anywhere besides Dallas.
Los Angeles Lakers
If Jordan does not go to Dallas, the Lakers are another team known to be big-name hunting this summer. Their ideal scenario, of course, would be to trade for Kawhi Leonard and sign George and James as free agents, but if that doesn't pan out, Jordan could be a nice fallback option.
With Brook Lopez set to hit free agency and Julius Randle's future up in the air as a restricted free agent, the Lakers are weak up front. Even if they land James, a Leonard trade could fall through, or George could re-sign in Oklahoma City.
There are scenarios in which a pursuit of Jordan could make sense, with or without another superstar in the fold. This is especially true in light of Lakers president Magic Johnson's declaration to the media earlier this week that he'll step down if the team doesn't land a big name in one of the next two summers.
Houston Rockets
Any interest the Rockets have in Jordan is dependent on what happens with Clint Capela's restricted free agency. It's widely believed that Houston will match any offer sheet for the 24-year-old Swiss big man, but with Chris Paul up for a max extension that could be worth north of $200 million over five years, matching a max offer sheet for Capela could give them pause.
With a strong track record of durability, Jordan, who turns 30 near the end of July, fits nicely into the Rockets' win-now timeline with Paul and James Harden, while Capela fits the timeline of Clippers team that appears to be ready to go younger and build for the future. Jordan, a Houston native, also played with Paul for six seasons in L.A.
A sign-and-trade sending Jordan to Houston and Capela to the Clippers would be an intriguing option for both teams to look at if Jordan's talks with the Mavericks fall through.
Cleveland Cavaliers
If James decides to re-sign in Cleveland, the Cavs will need to make moves to upgrade their roster and avoid another NBA Finals sweep like the one the team just suffered at the hands of the Golden State Warriors. The Cavs have plenty of contracts they could include in a sign-and-trade for salary-matching purposes, along with No. 8 overall pick Collin Sexton.
From a long-term standpoint, mortgaging the future yet again for a win-now player like Jordan isn't the wisest move. But if James stays, there's no reason to believe his outlook will change from wanting the best chance to win as much as possible while he's close to his prime.
There won't be many real impact players available for the capped-out Cavs unless they put Kevin Love on the table, but Jordan would be an intriguing target as they attempt to stay in contention. Love and Tristan Thompson have struggled at times in matchups at center, and Jordan could cover up their weaknesses at that position.
Portland Trail Blazers
Blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey reportedly tried to trade for Jordan—whom he drafted in 2008, when he was assistant general manager of the Clippers—in late January, per Marc Stein of the New York Times. His durability and consistency make him an upgrade in the middle over restricted free agent Jusuf Nurkic, and he'd be a nice fit next to Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.
With the hefty contracts of Evan Turner ($36.5 million remaining) and Meyers Leonard ($21.9 million) on the books for two more seasons, Portland has limited options to get better in the short term but needs to make upgrades in the next three years before Lillard and McCollum hit free agency.
If the Clippers were interested in a sign-and-trade built around the 23-year-old Nurkic, along with role players on fair contracts like Al-Farouq Aminu and Maurice Harkless, Jordan would represent a meaningful upgrade for Portland.
Golden State Warriors
On Friday night, Stein reported the defending champions are going to explore the possibility of adding Jordan to the fold. This is a long shot, since Jordan would have to take a massive pay cut to join the Warriors. The most they can offer him is the taxpayer mid-level exception, which starts at just $5.3 million, a far cry from the near-max offers he'll likely receive from other teams.
There is some history between Jordan and the Warriors, as Stein noted. He's close friends with Kevin Durant and was once represented by Dubs general manager Bob Myers. Additionally, Jordan signed a four-year, $43 million offer sheet with Golden State before the 2011-12 season, which the Clippers matched.
With the Warriors, Jordan would take the vast majority of the minutes that JaVale McGee and Kevon Looney received at times last season—a clear upgrade. If the center prioritizes winning above all else, signing with Golden State would be his best option. But the vast difference in the amount of money other suitors can offer makes this an unlikely scenario.
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