Reddick, reportedly flew to Jordan’s off-season home in Houston on Wednesday in a miraculous, last-ditch effort to convince him to renege on his verbal commitment to sign with the Mavericks and instead re-sign with the Clippers, with whom he played his first seven National Basteball Association seasons.
Advertisement
Cuban was busy Thursday morning, also responding to a tweet ESPN’s Chris Broussard sent out Wednesday night that described the Mavericks owner as “beside himself”.
Jordan also wondered whether Griffin will remain in Los Angeles after 2017, when both the latter and Paul can become free agents, per ESPN. The Mavericks did not even get a warning. The team desperately needs his talent; after all, they do not want to face another 34-year stretch with only three winning seasons! The Mavericks and Jordan’s agents tried to reach him repeatedly while he met with the Clippers, but were unsuccessful.
The emoji battle finally came to an end when Redick presumably left Jordan’s home, giving the Clippers a free agency grade of an A+ before driving home to go to sleep.
“We had one priority this summer, and that was to re-sign D.J., and we missed out on that”, the guard said.
Jordan had previously committed to signing with the Dallas Mavericks last week. Jordan was the second player in National Basteball Association history to shoot 70 percent for the entire regular season (Wilt Chamberlain), but is recognized for his rebounding and shot-blocking skills. The deal included an opt-out after the third year that would’ve allowed Jordan to leave. However, he already lost his leverage during that free agent period.
If the hype of The Decision was a new low for National Basteball Association free agency, the unexpected madness of yesterday might have been a new high point.
It’s easy to jump ship and get out of something that you think doesn’t work, but what the Clippers had with Jordan was too great of a fit to let go.
The unusual last-minute lobbying played out on Twitter with various players tweeting emojis with apparent references to traveling to Houston to meet with Jordan.
Advertisement
Paul had to cut short his vacation in the Carribbean with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade so he can join this pursuit. But before he was able to sign that contract, Jordan started having doubts. Now the Clippers, after adding Lance Stephenson and Paul Pierce, can once again feel like next year will be their year.
