Mark Cuban to Mavericks fans: Never heard from DeAndre Jordan
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said that he never heard from free-agent DeAndre Jordan on Wednesday after officials and players from the Los Angeles Clippers descended on Jordan’s house to try to secure his return to the team.
Last Friday, Jordan verbally agreed to a four-year, $80 million deal with the Mavericks, but reportedly had second thoughts at the beginning of the week and reached out to the Clippers.
Cuban posted a response on the messaging app CyberDust saying that he will detail what happened with Jordan at a later time.
“I don’t think the time is right to say anything beyond the fact that he never responded to me at all yesterday,” Cuban wrote. “Not once. To this minute I have not heard anything from him since Tuesday night.”
Later Thursday, while speaking to Fortune Magazine's Daniel Roberts, Cuban said, “Yeah, kind of a f----- up situation, but, it happens. I'm moving on.”
Jordan's reversal keeps Clippers contending, brings Mavs' undoing
Jordan reportedly met with Clippers head coach/president of basketball operations Doc Rivers, owner Steve Ballmer and president of business operations Gillian Zucker the day before agreeing to the deal with Dallas.
ESPN.com reported last month that the Mavericks were considered the favorite to land Jordan should he leave Los Angeles.
Jordan ended up signing a four-year maximum deal worth an estimated $88 million with the Clippers, after the NBA’s moratorium ended at midnight Eastern.
Jordan, 26, has spent the last seven seasons with the Clippers after they selected him in the second round of the 2008 NBA draft. He had arguably his best season in 2014-15, leading the NBA in field goal percentage and rebounding while earning All-NBA third team honors.
• Free Agency:Best available | Free agent tracker | Grading deals
Cuban also praised Mavs signee Wes Matthews, who reportedly agreed to a four-year, $57 million deal with Dallas. Cuban told Matthews he was not obligated to honor his agreement with the team if he wanted to play elsewhere, but Cuban says Matthews reaffirmed his commitment to Dallas.
“I can’t print his exact response, but suffice it to say he is excited to play for our Mavs,” Cuban wrote in his message. “Wes Matthews is exactly the type of player we want in a Mavs uniform and our fans will love him.”
Cuban was fined $25,000 by the NBA last week for publicly discussing the team’s deals with Jordan and Matthews during the league's free agent moratorium.
- Scooby Axson
