DeAndre Jordan became the talk of the NBA when he, all of a sudden, had a change of heart.
Source: https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/jordan3.jpg?w=720&h=480&crop=1
Around 2 days ago on NBA Gametime, the Dallas Mavericks were chosen by analyst Stu Jackson as one the biggest winners in free agency as the team "supposedly" landed DeAndre Jordan. On the other hand, the LA Clippers were considered as one of the biggest losers in this year's Free Agent Frenzy because of how they failed to re-sign DeAndre Jordan. JJ Redick said it best in his bleacherreport interview when asked about how we would grade his team's performance in free agency, "We had one priority this offseason and that was to re-sign DJ... And yet, we didn't do that, so, definitely, a failing grade for us." Then, to add insult to injury, Chris Paul, the heart and soul of the Clippers, didn't even seem to be bothered by what was happening because he was very much enjoying his summer with his good buddies LeBron, Melo and D-Wade. As an observer, it was impossible not to think that there was indeed, a disconnect that happened between CP3 and DJ during the Western Conference Semifinals in which they blew a 3-1 series lead and lost to the Rockets in 7.
Then, when everything seemed over for the Clippers, news came out 24 hours later that DJ was having second thoughts about going to Dallas. This was HOLLYWOOD DRAMA at its best. The highly confident Mavs, all of a sudden, had to rush back to DJ to prevent him from changing his original decision, which was to sign with them. On the other hand, LAC pulled off all the tricks to persuade him to come back. And so, what eventually happened in this so-called "Love Triangle" between DJ, LAC and BIG D? Well, just like in most chick flicks, when the girl always had to choose between her first love and new love, DJ went back to the Clippers (first love) and signed a four year deal worth $87.7 M. Poetically speaking, DJ and LAC kissed and made up, tightly hugged each other and said the three magic words (I love you) that punctuated their love story. I guess, first love, indeed, never dies.
It was a story of epic proportions. As I previously mentioned, it was HOLLYWOOD DRAMA at its best. Dallas went from hero to zero while LAC literally came back from the ashes and got their defensive anchor back. How would this impact free agency in the upcoming years? To be very frank, it would affect it a lot or if not, it would, at the very least, open up discussions on how to go about it.
There were 2 reasons why teams were not yet allowed to sign players between July 1 and July 8, which caused the DJ fiasco to happen, and they were:
1) The Actual Salary Cap was only officially determined by July 9th.
2) The one week period allowed the players to reflect on their individual decisions. (Well, in DJ's case, it caused him to have second thoughts and eventually, decided to ditch Dallas and come back to the Clippers.)
So, what then are the possible remedies to prevent DJ's love story from happening again? These are some possible solutions:
1) Determine the Actual Salary Cap by July 1st. This will allow teams to let players sign on the dotted line from the get-go. Take note, everyone knows that as long as a player has not officially signed a contract, then he is technically, still a free agent.
2) Start everything (meaning Free Agency Period) on the 9th of July and remove the July 1st- July 8th negotiating period. This should only happen if the league would insist that they would need time to determine the cap.
Most people, including my older brother, didn't particularly like what happened between DJ, LAC and Big D. To actually quote my brother, this was his official take on it, "DeAndre Jordan should have just thought about it first and just announced his decision when he was very sure about it already."
Well, as much as I truly understand my older brother's point and in a way, agree with him, I also know for a fact that at times, there are those situations that make us think twice even if we have made a decision already.
When I did my own, personal reflection on what happened, I tried to put myself in DJ's shoes and I realized that it was actually a very tough call. What if, I just thought, he and CP3 really had a rift that made him want to leave the team. Then, he decided that he would go to Dallas. Yet, days before he could sign the contract with the Mavs, CP3 in all sincerity apologized to him and was humble enough to admit that they (he, Blake, Doc, Truth and the whole team) needed him. Would the actions of CP3 not change his mind? If I were in DJ's place, I would actually change my mind not because of the money but because of two things: reconciliation and family. We have to remember that DJ has been a clipper since he got drafted in 2008. This has been his home for the past 7 years. He had been through the good times and the bad times. They went from being lottery-bound to championship contenders. They went from being the other LA team to becoming "THE LA TEAM". He went from being a second rounder with attitude problems to becoming a max player who anchors the team's defense. These were the kinds of things that I felt, he just couldn't walk away from easily especially if the only reason for leaving was a simple rift that he and CP3 could actually fix. Did he treat Dallas the proper way, you might ask? Of course not. Yet, at the same time, could I blame him for having a change of heart? I also couldn't. Oh well, I guess I now know why stories about love never go out of stlye. They just have a way of tinkering with our hearts and our minds in a way that only they can do.
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