NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan will not opt-in to the final year of his contract, making him a free agent - one the Dallas Mavericks are said to covet.
The NBA Champion Golden State Warriors are also rumored to be among the teams interested, but the champs lack the cap space to match the offer Dallas is expected to make.
According to the NYTimes' Marc Stein, it may cost the Warriors nearly as much in luxury tax as the Mavs could offer the vaunted bigman. That price tag is for the Warriors to pay Jordan just $5.3 million; the Mavs have nearly $30 million in cap space.
This comes just three years after the Mavs reportedly had a verbal agreement with the Texas A&M product, before several members of the Clippers organization, including coach Doc Rivers and players Chris Paul and Paul Pierce, reportedly surrounded Jordan in his home until he signed a contract.
The Mavs are expected to target Jordan after trading for European star Luka Doncic.
Before Jordan opted out, several reporters around the league rumored a trade for Jordan might be in the works, especially after the Clippers acquired Wizards center Marcin Gortat.
With the hope that their 2017 first round pick (top-5 protected), which they traded for Doncic, will convert to the Atlanta Hawks next season, there is little incentive for the team to tank.
Few other teams have been rumored to be as interested in Jordan as the Mavericks, but as they learned, nothing is set in stone until he signs on the dotted line.
