Will DeAndre Jordan get what he wants by opting in to the final year of his contract?
DeAndre Jordan could surely get a nice multi-year deal this offseason as a free agent, but that may not be his plan.
In the background of bigger fish in the NBA free agency sea, Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan has his own opt-in decision to make before Friday’s deadline. That player option is worth a shade over $24.1 million, but Jordan could also decline the option in pursuit of a multi-year deal as an unrestricted free agent.
The Clippers narrowly missed the playoffs last year. But two late lottery picks this year and trades that moved Chris Paul and Blake Griffin in roughly the last year could move the franchise either direction on the contention-rebuilding spectrum. They are a dark horse to make a move to acquire Kawhi Leonard this offseason, or if his desire to play in Los Angeles goes beyond the Lakers signing him in the summer of 2019 isn’t out of the question.
Jordan is not a franchise-changing star. He has become an All-Star caliber center though, and would not lack for suitors on the open market. But according to Marc Stein of the New York Times, opting out may not be on Jordan’s agenda.
Among the various options DeAndre Jordan has been weighing, according to league sources, is opting into the final season of his current contract (at $24.1 million) before Friday's midnight deadline to facilitate a trade -- with Dallas, sources say, among the teams interested
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 26, 2018
The specific mention of the Dallas Mavericks as a team with interest in trading for Jordan adds some intrigue. They practically had him signed in the summer of 2015, if only in principal, before an 11th hour entrapment from Clippers’ teammates and coaches convinced him to reverse course. But Dallas is apparently willing to let that spurning go, as they continue a search for a center of Jordan’s mold.
If he hasn’t already done so, Jordan should soon be telling the Clippers he wants to opt-in for next season and facilitate a trade. It could work for the team, as they’d guarantee getting something for Jordan rather than risk losing him for nothing at some point.
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But Jordan could still be seen as a critical piece of the future by the Clippers, and they’d have no obligation to move him this offseason if he opts in to the final year of his contract. Teams may try to low-ball the Clippers in trade talks on the heels of an opt-in now, but they shouldn’t make a bad deal simply to satisfy Jordan’s desire to be traded.