One of the last of a dying breed, DeAndre Jordan, is set to become a free agent this summer. As opposed to many other players, Jordan has stated hes looking for long term security after this year rather than take a one year deal and wait for the salary cap to rise. Based off of this quote, it sounds like the authoritative big man is ready to go where ever the money takes him,
“I mean I’ve obviously been here seven years, and the past two have been great,” Jordan tells Sam Amick of USA TODAY. “Doc (president of basketball operations/head coach Doc Rivers) has been my biggest supporter and the best coach I’ve ever had. The team is great. The guys are great. We have great camaraderie. But the free agency process is definitely going to be a fun one.”
If that doesn’t sound like a guy ready to leave for the highest bidder to you, then I’m afraid you haven’t been paying attention. It was classic impending free agent talk: thanking the coach, the organization, “the guys”. The key comes at the end when he gets to what he really wants to focus on, “But the free agency process..“.
If your Jordan, LA might just might be the place you wind up calling home when its all said and done, though. Not many cities can compete with it’s allure, and they have the ability to offer more money than any other team. According to ESPN,
Several teams with loads of salary cap room will probably contract Jordan’s agent early on July 1, however when everything plays out, he will likely re-sign with the Clippers since they can offer a larger guaranteed deal.
Jordan, making $11.44 million this season, as a seven-year NBA veteran may see a starting max salary set by the NBA at around $18.6 million in July. If the max salary comes in close to that number, a five-year contract for Jordan could be worth around $106.9 million. Other teams can offer only $79.42 million over four years.
Of course, that sounds like a huge chunk of change, but the differences annually between the two (hypothetical) contracts would only be about 1.5 million. This is also assuming LA will want to offer him that type of money. He’s a beast in the paint without a doubt, but he averages less then a dozen points, and has become a liability down the stretch in big games.
Doc already had one of those guys, another “last of a dying breed” types, who was a brute force defensively and would reel in the rebound totals. Remember what he did to him? Rivers and Danny Ainge broke up a potential dynasty in the blink of an eye. (Still miss you, Perk.)
Yes, Doc has been ranting and raving for Jordan to win Defensive Player of the Year, and has even compared him to Bill Russell. But Doc’s a smart man and knows how to get his boys paid.
For now this is all speculation, and LA could very well value the big man to be worth more than 20 million per year. We’re going to have to wait and see. Regardless, DeAndre Jordan was right. This free agency process should be fun.