DeAndre Jordan Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southwest Rumors: Davis, Jordan, Conley, Hartenstein

July 26th, 2018 at 8:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Anthony Davis learned that DeMarcus Cousins was joining the Warriors while watching TV and didn’t see it coming, Scott Kushner of the Baton Rouge Advocate relays. Davis’ comments were made during a CBS-TV interview.

The Pelicans‘ superstar big man understood why Cousins decided to take a one-year deal with Golden State after entering free agency with hopes of a max contract offer.

“I was a little shocked. But I know DeMarcus, and I know he made the best decision for him and his career at that time and for his family,” Davis said. “Of course, I definitely would’ve loved for that to keep going. But at that point, I wasn’t sure what was going on with his situation or what was going through his head. It’s a lot, coming from being traded and then feeling like you deserve a max contract, and then you tear your Achilles. It was a tough situation; it’s tough on him.”

We have more from the Southwest Division:

Mavericks center DeAndre Jordan isn’t expected to show up at the USA Basketball minicamp this week, Dwain Price of Mavs.com tweets. Jordan wasn’t at the camp on Thursday and is likely to remain absent on Friday, Price adds.
Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley is participating at the minicamp but will not compete in full scrimmages or contact drills, Michael Wallace of the Grizzlies’ website reports. Conley said his foot and heel are pain-free for the first time in two years after undergoing season-ending surgery in January.
Isaiah Hartenstein‘s three-year contract with the Rockets is fully guaranteed next season, has a partial guarantee the second year, and a non-guaranteed third year, Michael Scotto of The Athletic tweets. The 7-footer, a 2017 second-round selection, signed the contract on Wednesday after playing in the G League last season. He posted averages of 10.3 PPG, 8.0 RPG, and 2.3 BPG in four summer league games with Houston earlier this month.
Dirk Nowitzki‘s one-year contract with the Mavericks does not contain a no-trade clause because he has automatic veto rights over any trade as a One-Year Bird, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. Nowitzki signed the $5MM deal this week.

Mavs Notes: Jordan, Doncic, Finley, Koponen

July 7th, 2018 at 10:00am CST by Luke Adams

Many NBA observers were surprised to see the Mavericks pursue DeAndre Jordan again, three years after he spurned them in free agency by backing out a verbal agreement with Dallas to rejoin the Clippers. However, team owner Mark Cuban said it only took him and Jordan a matter of seconds to smooth things over, as Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com details.

“There’s like four guys I hold grudges with, and three of them are from grade school, maybe even before,” Cuban told MacMahon. “I just want to win. Look, only Dirk [Nowitzki] and J.J. [Barea] were there from that period anyway. All of our guys were like, ‘Go get him! Go get him!

“I talked to him on the phone and he’s like, ‘Everything behind us?’ I’m like, ‘Let’s go win.’ He goes, ‘Let’s go to war.’ Done.”

According to Cuban, the team and Jordan mutually agreed that a one-year deal was the best route to take, with both sides planning to use the 2018/19 season to assess the potential for a long-term fit. Cuban also noted that the Mavericks explored the possibility of adding DeMarcus Cousins, but felt like Jordan gave the club a better chance to “win now” than a player coming off an Achilles tear.

“You don’t want to put somebody in a position where they have to rush back, and the Warriors obviously don’t have to deal with that,” Cuban said. “I was happy for him. A lot of people talk trash about [Cousins], but we thought he would have been great. But I wanted to win now, and that’s what I told his guys.”

Here’s more on the Mavs:

Cuban also spoke to MacMahon about No. 3 overall pick Luka Doncic, whom the Mavericks owner called “the top player on our board.” Cuban added that “it wasn’t even close.”
Speaking of Doncic, the Mavericks have agreed to terms with Real Madrid on his buyout agreement, tweets international basketball reporter David Pick. Doncic should be on track to finalize his rookie contract and officially join the Mavs soon.
Mavericks executive Michael Finley received a promotion in the front office this week, according to Dwain Price of Mavs.com (Twitter link). Formerly Dallas’ assistant vice president of basketball operations, Finley was named the Mavs’ VP of basketball operations.
In a move that has been a formality for the last several years, the Mavericks removed Petteri Koponen‘s cap hold from their books this week, per RealGM’s official transactions log. Dallas still has the NBA rights to Koponen, a 2007 first-round pick, so in order to remove his cap hold each season, the team and player have to agree to that he won’t be signing with the Mavs for the current league year.

DeAndre Jordan Signs One-Year Deal With Mavs

July 7th, 2018 at 7:38am CST by Austin Kent

JULY 7, 7:38am: Jordan’s new salary will be $22.9MM, but he won’t actually be taking a pay cut due to the lack of state income taxes in Texas, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. MacMahon also relays comments from Mark Cuban on the signing, with the Mavs owner explaining that Jordan gives the team the best chance to “win now.”

JULY 6, 5:50pm: The signing is official, according to Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.

JUNE 30, 11:26pm: According to Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports, Jordan’s one-year deal is worth slightly less than the $24.1MM option he turned down in Los Angeles.

11:06pm: The Mavericks have agreed on a one-year deal with DeAndre Jordan, Marc Stein of The New York Times tweets. The verbal agreement is said to approach the $24.1MM mark, the amount Jordan surrendered on Friday when he turned down his player option with the Clippers.

The acquisition of Jordan is a long time coming for the Mavs – like, since Emojigate long – but the idea of the pairing picked up steam when the Texas-born big man shut the door on a return to Los Angeles by turning down his 2018/19 option.

The Mavs ensured that they would have plenty of cap space available with which to convince Jordan to join them when they turned down the 2018/19 team option on Dirk Nowitzki‘s contract.

It’s unclear exactly what the final figure for the one-year deal with Jordan will be, but Dallas had approximately $28MM to offer him. With the former Clipper apparently on track to join the Mavs, the club is probably out of the market for several other noteworthy big men that have been linked to Dallas in recent weeks — that list includes Julius Randle and DeMarcus Cousins, among others.

Jordan, fresh off of his fifth consecutive season averaging a double-double, will slot into Dallas’ suddenly impressive lineup and should give franchise pillar Nowitzki a significantly greater chance of playing competitive basketball in the twilight of his career.

Jordan was the 10th-ranked player on our list of the top 50 free agents of 2018.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Warriors Interested In Jordan, Mavs Remain Favorites

June 30th, 2018 at 8:50am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Warriors intend to make a run at Clippers center DeAndre Jordan in free agency despite their salary-cap restrictions, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets.

Jordan would have to accept their $5.3MM taxpayer mid-level exception, a huge drop from the $24.1MM he left on the table when he decided to opt out on Friday. While Jordan’s salary would be modest, such a move would wind up costing the Warriors closer to $27MM due to luxury taxes, Stein notes (Twitter link). Jordan is close friends with Kevin Durant and a former client of Golden State GM Bob Myers.

Dropping Jordan, one of the league’s premier rebounders, into the Warriors’ starting five would complete a star-studded lineup and ensure they’d be championship favorites once again no matter where LeBron James winds up.

Jordan would have to sacrifice a boatload of money for the opportunity to chase a ring. The Mavericks have made Jordan their top priority and have approximately $28MM to offer him. That makes Dallas a strong favorite to land him, Stein adds (Twitter link).

The chances of Jordan returning to the Clippers, as he did during his last free agent foray in 2015, seem remote. The team even tweeted a ‘Thank You, DeAndre!’ after his opt-out decision. They acquired veteran center Marcin Gortat from the Wizards earlier this week.

Mavs Decline Nowitzki’s Option, Will Offer New Deal

June 29th, 2018 at 6:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Mavericks will decline Dirk Nowitzki‘s $5MM team option in order to open up more salary-cap space, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. Dallas plans to work out a new contract with Nowitzki, who mutually agreed to the decision, Stein adds.

This will give the Mavericks more wiggle room to pursue free agents, with DeAndre Jordan at the top of their wish list after he decided to opt out of his contract with the Clippers.

Dallas could have as much as $28-30MM in cap space, salary-cap enthusiast Albert Nahmad tweets.

Nowitzki has said he’d like to play at least one more season. Among the ways the Mavericks could re-sign him is by using their room-level exception, which is projected at $4.4MM in the first year of the contract.

DeAndre Jordan To Opt Out, Become Free Agent

June 29th, 2018 at 5:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Clippers center DeAndre Jordan will opt out of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent on Sunday, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

Jordan can negotiate a long-term contract with the Mavericks, who were engaged in trade talks with the Clippers to acquire him if he opted in. Dallas was unwilling to give up draft picks in a potential trade and preferred to pursue the veteran big man in free agency, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets.

Jordan’s decision to leave $24.1MM on the table still doesn’t give the Clippers a large amount of cap space. In fact, as Bobby Marks of ESPN points out, the maximum amount of room they could open up is $13.6MM but they’d have to waive two point guards, Milos Teodosic and Patrick Beverley, to make that happen. If the Clippers stay over the cap, they’d still their $8.6MM mid-level and $3.4MM bi-annual exceptions at their disposal.

However, they could have as much as $60MM in cap space next summer, Marks adds in another tweet.

Of course, the Mavericks have been down this road before with one of the league’s premier rebounders. Jordan, who averaged 12.0 and a career-best 15.2 RPG last season, famously reneged on a verbal agreement with Dallas in the summer of 2015 to remain in L.A. However, the Mavericks are intent on getting a premier center and probably won’t have a lot of competition to get him to sign the dotted line the second time around.

DeAndre Jordan Still Weighing Option Decision

June 29th, 2018 at 3:53pm CST by Luke Adams

3:53pm: Marc Stein of The New York Times, who initially reported that the Clippers were resistant to taking on Matthews in a trade with the Mavericks, now hears from one source that L.A. wouldn’t necessarily be opposed to the idea (Twitter link). That should keep the trade talks between the two teams alive.

3:25pm: With tonight’s deadline looming, Clippers center DeAndre Jordan is still weighing whether or not to exercise his $24.12MM option for 2018/19, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

As we’ve detailed throughout the week, the Clippers and Mavericks have engaged in discussions on a trade that would involve Jordan picking up his option and being sent to Dallas. However, the two sides have been unable to agree on the terms of that deal, with one report suggesting that Los Angeles isn’t interested in taking on Wesley Matthews, who would be the preferred outgoing piece from the Mavs’ perspective.

According to Wojnarowski, trade talks between the Clips and Mavs could pick up again, but they’ve been “dormant” today. That could leave Jordan with a decision to make before tonight 11:59pm ET deadline, and two potential roads to take.

One path would be to opt out of his contract and explore a new deal with the Mavs – or another team – in free agency. Jordan could lock in a longer-term agreement in that scenario, but would likely have to accept a more modest starting salary than his $24MM+ option salary. Additionally, Dallas would have to use most or all of its available cap room to sign the big man as a free agent. If they were instead able to trade for him using another sizable contract like Matthews’, the Mavs could retain cap space for another move.

The alternative for Jordan would be to pick up his option today, even without a trade agreement in place. In that scenario, he and his representatives could continue to work with the Clippers on a potential trade, or he could simply prepare to return to L.A. for one more season before reaching the open market in 2019.

Jordan is the last veteran with a player option decision to make, as our tracker shows. So far, 20 of 27 players holding options have decided to exercise them, a stark contrast from the last two offseasons, when just eight of 53 players opted in.

Trade Rumors: Clippers, Mavs, Richardson, Lakers

June 29th, 2018 at 7:37am CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers aren’t overly interested in taking back Wesley Matthews in a trade sending DeAndre Jordan to the Mavericks, reports Marc Stein of The New York Times (via Twitter). Los Angeles’ reluctance to accept Matthews makes some sense — while his salary is a little more affordable than Jordan’s, his contract expires at the same time, and the veteran swingman doesn’t really fill a major need for the Clips.

In order to work out a deal with the Clippers, the Mavericks will have to come up with an alternative trade scenario for Jordan, Stein notes. However, if the two sides can’t reach an agreement, that doesn’t necessarily mean Dallas is out of the running for Jordan, since the standout center could always decline his player option and sign with the Mavs as a free agent. If Dallas can work out a trade for Jordan, the team could theoretically preserve a good chunk of its cap room for another signing.

Here are a few more trade-related rumors from around the NBA:

Several teams called the Heat to inquire about Josh Richardson during the draft, but Miami showed no interest in moving him, sources tell ESPN’s Zach Lowe. If the Heat hope to re-sign Wayne Ellington or use their mid-level exception, they’ll almost certainly have to shed salary, but Richardson isn’t a player the club is willing to lose.
The Suns made Marquese Chriss available in trade talks on draft night, according to Lowe. The ESPN.com scribe adds that the Suns, who are in the market for a point guard this summer, have yet to show any interest in trading for Dennis Schroder of the Hawks.
Multiple sources tell Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post that the Lakers and Nuggets have discussed a trade that would send unwanted salary and a draft pick to Los Angeles. Reports earlier this week indicated that the Lakers were exploring ways to acquire another first-round pick to sweeten a potential offer for Kawhi Leonard.
In a piece for ESPN.com, Bobby Marks examines some of the more intriguing expiring contracts and trade chips around the NBA.

Mavs Looking To Acquire DeAndre Jordan

June 28th, 2018 at 1:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JUNE 28, 1:42pm: Jordan is the Mavericks’ primary target as free agency approaches, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. According to MacMahon, if a trade agreement can’t be reached and the veteran center declines his option, Dallas plans to pursue him aggressively as a free agent. The interest between Jordan and the Mavs is mutual, sources tell MacMahon.

JUNE 27, 9:28pm: The Mavericks are engaged in talks with the Clippers to acquire center DeAndre Jordan this week, sources told Marc Stein of the New York Times.

This is a case of forgive and forget, as Jordan notoriously backed out on a free-agent deal with Dallas during the summer of 2015 to stay in L.A.

Jordan has a Friday night deadline to decide whether to exercise his $24.1MM player option for next season. If he opts in, Dallas can trade for him before free agency begins on Sunday. Swingman Wesley Matthews and his $18.6MM contract would likely be the centerpiece of any offer, according to Stein.

If Jordan opts out, Dallas could pursue him in free agency along with two other centers, unrestricted free agent DeMarcus Cousins and restricted free agent Clint Capela.

The Clippers have granted permission to Jordan and agent Jeff Schwartz to explore trade scenarios with other teams. It’s a similar scenario to All-Star guard Chris Paul opting in with the team and then getting traded to the Rockets last summer.

Dallas passed on drafting a big man last Thursday and instead made a deal with the Hawks for EuroLeague guard Luka Doncic.

Clippers, Wizards Swap Austin Rivers, Marcin Gortat

June 26th, 2018 at 10:29pm CST by clarkcrum

10:29pm: Both teams have now officially announced the trade.

6:29pm: The Clippers are trading guard Austin Rivers to the Wizards in exchange for center Marcin Gortat, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, making it perhaps even more likely that center DeAndre Jordan is on his way out of L.A.

It was reported earlier today that Jordan, who has yet to decide on his 2018/19 player option, is considering exercising his option in order to facilitate a trade to another team, a la former teammate Chris Paul last season. While nothing has been reported officially, it seems odd that the Clippers would trade for Gortat if they have any expectation of keeping Jordan in Los Angeles.

After drafting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jerome Robinson in the lottery last week, Rivers appears to be a casualty of the Clippers’ guard heavy roster moving forward, especially given his price tag of $12.65MM, which is approximately twice the amount that the Clippers will pay their two rookies combined.

Meanwhile, it had already been reported that the Wizards were hoping to move on from Gortat. The Wizards needed a proven reserve guard to give John Wall and Bradley Beal some backup and, as detailed by Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN, to move on from Gortat from a locker room standpoint. As was highly publicized, Gortat and Wall had an inconsistent relationship, culminating in a public social media spat last season.

The Wizards now figure to enter the free agent period this weekend in search of a center. Ian Mahinmi and Jason Smith are currently under contract for next season.

From a salary cap perspective, the salaries of Rivers and Gortat match nicely, with Gortat scheduled to make $13,565,218 next season, only $915,218 more than Rivers. Assuming the swap is made official before the new league year begins on Sunday, the Wizards will create a trade exception worth $957,609, the difference between the two players’ 2017/18 salaries.

The Wizards will also save about $1.4MM in luxury tax penalties by taking on Rivers’ salary in exchange for Gortat’s, as noted by ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Both Rivers and Gortat are in the final year of contracts, and will become unrestricted free agents next summer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.