Can Mavericks fans really forgive DeAndre Jordan?
By Reid Hanson
The Dallas Mavericks appear to be making a run on Clippers center DeAndre Jordan this summer. Can we seriously forgive and forget what he once did to us?
MFFL, the unthinkable is happening. The Dallas Mavericks are making a push to add DeAndre Jordan…again. The man who I once dubbed, “The worst person in the world”, may soon be wearing a Mavericks jersey and there ain’t a durn thing you or I can do about it.
In case you’re new to this, DeAndre Jordan was once before the object of the Mavericks’ affection. In fact, DeAndre reciprocated this love and committed to signing a max deal with the Mavs back in the summer of 2015. As we all know, this marriage was never consummated, leaving Dallas in the lurch and DeAndre in LA.
How DeAndre helps the Mavericks
In theory, the idea of adding DeAndre makes sense. Center is arguably the weakest position on the team. If the Mavs are going to throw max money at a position, center is where we can see the biggest improvement.
DeAndre Jordan, specifically, makes sense as well. He may be nearly 30-years-old, but the 6-11 265lb high-flying center is a beast above the rim and on the boards. He was second in the NBA in rebounds (arguably the Mavs biggest deficiency) and can score points without relying on set plays.
He’s even improved in the one area in which he’s been historically atrocious: free throws. In 2014, he was only able to sink a shameful 39.7% of his attempts from the line. But since then, he’s managed to improve every single season in LA. Today, he’s shockingly dropping a modest 58 percent from that charity stripe.
DeAndre isn’t that long plodding center that the NBA has recently made irrelevant. He may be a big shot-blocker, but he’s one who’s naturally athletic and not lost outside of the paint if he’s facing off against a small-ball team.
For those of us thinking Dallas was destined to add Mo Bamba this summer, Jordan fills that roll. And he’s probably going to be better than Bamba projects for at least the next three seasons. For a team that wants to start winning now, Jordan is the clear solution at center. And since the Mavs traded a future first rounder, they have no reason to lose in the up-coming season.
Can you forgive and forget?
I don’t know about you but the answer for me is “no”. When DeAndre Jordan reneged on his commitment to the Mavericks a few seasons back, he essentially doomed the team to a futile future. Not because he just spurned them, but because he waited to spurn them after he committed.
If DeAndre only would have declined them from the start, the Mavericks could have focused their attention elsewhere. But he did not. He waited until it was too late. By the time he was locked up and hiding under the bed with his Clippers brethren, it was too late for the Mavs to sign decent free agent.
DeAndre Jordan killed any chance Dirk Nowitzki had at making a final playoff run.
DeAndre Jordan makes the Mavericks better, so courting him this summer makes perfect sense. But to completely overlook what he did seems impossible – even years later.
No player has hurt this franchise more than DeAndre Jordan. He blocked them from improving and prematurely sent them into rebuilding mode. Logic and reason say “yes, forgive him” but an example must be made, therefore I’ll never be onboard with the idea of swallowing our pride and begging the man I called “the worst” to join the team I love.
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If DeAndre becomes a Mav, I’ll still cheer on my team as passionately as before, but I’ll never cheer for Jordan himself, nor will I ever endorse him as an addition. What do you think? Recognizing what DeAndre Jordan once did, can you forgive and forget? Does it set a bad example or should we forget the past and focus on the future?