All-Star center DeAndre Jordan signed with the Dallas Mavericks three years after he famously bailed out on them. Jordan officially turned unrestricted free agent on Saturday.
He opted out of the final year of his contract worth $24 million with the Los Angeles Clippers. Hours into free agency, Jordan then signed a one-year deal worth $24.1 million with the Mavericks, who pursued the 6-foot-11 center as a free agent three years ago.
In 2015, Jordan hit the free-agent market and was actively wooed by the Dallas Mavericks. Jordan gave a verbal commitment that he would sign a contract with them.
However, Jordan had a change of heart, prompting the Clippers to send a delegation to his house to prevent the Mavericks from completing the agreement. Jordan then signed a four-year deal worth $87 million to remain with the Clippers.
DeAndre Jordan Wanted To Play For One Team
Explaining his decision to stick with the Clippers, Jordan said at the time that he wanted to play for one team for his entire career. Jordan spent his first 10 NBA seasons with the Clippers, who drafted him in the second round of the 2009 Draft out of Texas A&M.
"When I factored coming back to the Clippers, I really thought about being on one team for my entire career, and that was really important to me," Jordan explained.
From 2012 to 2017, Jordan led the league in field-goal percentage and effective field-goal percentage and averaged at least 13.6 rebounds.
In 2017, Jordan achieved a career milestone after he was selected as a reserve to the All-Star Game for the first time. In that year, Jordan finished the season averaging 12.7 points, 13.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 81 games.
Last season, Jordan's scoring slightly dipped to 12.0 points per game, but he finished second in rebounding with an average of 15.2 caroms per outing. He also improved his free throw shooting, making a career-best 58 percent of his foul shots last season. In the past five seasons, Jordan never breached the 50-percent free throw shooting mark.
Dirk Nowitzki Sacrificed Again For Dallas Mavericks
To create salary cap room for Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki declined his $5 million option for next season. However, Nowitzki is expected to sign a new deal with the Mavericks.
With Jordan's acquisition, the Mavericks have addressed their frontcourt and backcourt this offseason. The Mavericks traded up in the 2017 NBA Draft to get European sensation Luka Doncic, who will take up the playmaking duties for Dallas. The Mavericks finished 24-58 last season.
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