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Los Angeles Clippers: DeAndre Jordan Made The Right Decision

By Gerald Bourguet

May 2, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (6) and guard Chris Paul (3) hug after defeating the San Antonio Spurs in game seven of the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center. Clippers won 111-109. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
May 2, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (6) and guard Chris Paul (3) hug after defeating the San Antonio Spurs in game seven of the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center. Clippers won 111-109. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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DeAndre Jordan
Feb 7, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) and guard Monta Ellis (11) defend against Portland Trail Blazers guard Wesley Matthews (2) during the second half at the American Airlines Center. The Mavericks defeated the Trail Blazers 111-101 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

What If Dallas Had Signed Jordan?

Now keep in mind, this battle of emojis, comedy and drama that you see before you was only what the players themselves had to say. Throw in the witty banter of NBA writers and fans everywhere and yesterday was a regular NBA Twitter fiesta. It was glorious for everyone but Mavs fans.

And they have a legitimate reason to be angry. Jordan would’ve been able to cover for Dirk on defense, handling the boards, protecting the rim and providing a constant alley-oop target no matter who Dallas signed as its new point guard (Jeremy Lin was frequently mentioned here).

Now, Jordan is gone, Nowitzki has no supporting cast as he ages another year and Lin will be joining the Charlotte Hornets.

Rebuilding this late in Nowitzki’s career isn’t what Cuban wanted, but he may have no choice now that his options at center include the likes of Kevin Seraphin, Jordan Hill, Kendrick Perkins and Cole Aldrich. The Mavs have $20 million in cap space, but even if they made an offer to restricted free agents like Enes Kanter or Tristan Thompson, their respective teams would most likely match. There just aren’t any good options left among the remaining free agents.

However, let’s assume for one second that Chandler Parsons’ unforgettable airplane tweet had actually landed Jordan rather than ignite the greatest day in the history of NBA Twitter. Is there anyone out there who truly believes that Dallas’ hypothetical lineup would’ve been better than what Jordan has with the Clippers now?

For the Mavs, it ideally would’ve been Lin (who still hasn’t proven he’s a starting-caliber point guard and is a huge minus defensively), Matthews (a terrific three-point shooter and defender, but one who’s also coming off a scary Achilles injury), Parsons (a good shooter and improving defender, but not a star player), Nowitzki (always skilled offensively, but is starting to show serious signs of his age) and Jordan (a brilliant defensive anchor, but a limited offensive weapon).

I can’t be alone in thinking that Mavs team would be about as good as last year’s, even if Mark Cuban disagrees.

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