The biggest story of the week in the NBA was DeAndre Jordan backing out of his verbal agreement with the Dallas Mavericks to re-sign with the Los Angeles Clippers. It was a total shock since players hardly ever decommit from a team during the free agency moratorium period, a period in which players and teams can agree to deals, but not yet sign contracts.
This year, the period was from July 1 at Midnight EST through July 9 at Midnight EST. During this time period, DeAndre Jordan agreed to a four-year contract with the Mavericks worth over $80M and then decided to change his mind and re-sign with the Clippers for approximately the same contract.
As a result of his decision or indecision, depending on how you look at it, Clippers fans rejoiced over the news and Mavericks fans got really upset. DeAndre Jordan recognized that there would be some backlash for what he did and so he decided to smooth things over on twitter by apologizing to the Mavericks organization and their fans.
I want to publicly apologize to one of the best owners in the world @MCuban, the @DallasMavs and their fans.
— DeAndre Jordan (@deandrejordan6) July 11, 2015
I am humbled by @DallasMavs & @MCuban kindness and understanding. I am sorry to have a change of heart.
— DeAndre Jordan (@deandrejordan6) July 11, 2015
While it was certainly a nice gesture by Jordan to apologize in the manner that he did, it was also a totally unnecessary gesture. DeAndre Jordan doesn't owe the Mavericks any apology whatsoever. The NBA is a business where players, owners, and coaches look out for themselves as individuals ahead of everybody else. All that DeAndre Jordan did was look out for himself and do the right thing at the expense of a team who he was trying to beat last season.
The Mavericks only have themselves to blame for not being able to convince DeAndre Jordan to sign with them. At the end of the day, DeAndre Jordan realized that he had a better gig with the Clippers and he ultimately made the right decision for himself. That is all.
If he should apologize for doing that, then every star in the NBA should apologize to the other 29 teams he chooses to not sign with. E.g. David West should apologize to the Pacers for leaving them to go to the Spurs while taking a massive pay cut. I understand that the way this all went down was sloppy and not pretty, but that doesn't mean DeAndre Jordan owes the Mavericks an apology.
The larger question here is whether or not the free agency moratorium period should exist or not. In my opinion I'm all for it because I think it gives both teams and players more flexibility and freedom to get deals done that benefit themselves. Obviously, the Mavericks got hurt by this system, but DeAndre Jordan benefited tremendously as a result of it.
If there is anything we learned from Mitt Romney, it is that corporations are actually NOT people. They are merely a collection of people who share a common interest or goal with the hopes of making money. The Dallas Mavericks are a corporation and DeAndre Jordan is an individual person who has a job, friends, family, and feelings.
People are making the mistake of acting as if both DeAndre Jordan and the Dallas Mavericks are the same type of entity. They are not the same type of entity. One is a corporation and the other is an individual person. When it comes down to an individual versus a corporation in matters of doing what is best for either the corporation or the individual, we should always side with the individual and not the corporation. The end decision clearly has a bigger impact on the individual from an emotional standpoint, financial standpoint, and an overall well-being standpoint.
DeAndre Jordan did what was best for him emotionally, financially, and what was best for his overall well-being. That alone is why he doesn't owe the Mavericks an apology. If anything, they should thank him for considering them in the first place. If he hadn't done the little dance that he did and instead agreed to a deal with the Clippers on July 1, the end result would still be the same. He would be on the Clippers and the Mavericks would be entering a period of rebuilding and retooling.
As a matter of fact, entering such a period is what the Mavericks need to do if they want to win another NBA championship. The harsh reality for the Mavericks is that the addition of DeAndre Jordan would have only delayed them from doing something that they ultimately would have needed to do anyways. They need to look at his departure as a blessing in disguise.
In conclusion, DeAndre Jordan doesn't owe the Dallas Mavericks an apology. He did something that was unusual and surprising, but that doesn't mean he owes the Mavericks an apology. If I eat a banana while drinking a diet soda through a long curly straw, it may be weird, but I don't need to apologize to anybody for my bizarre behavior. If some dude wants me to apologize to him because what I did in front of him traumatized him, that's his problem to deal with and not mine. If on the other hand I throw the straw at him and use it as a weapon to put a gash in his leg, then I owe him an apology because I did something illegal and also something that did him direct harm.
The Mavericks act as if DeAndre Jordan did direct harm to them. He didn't do direct harm to them. He merely got them excited for a future that didn't actually exist in any sort of metaphysical way. The Mavericks forgot that time as far as we conceptualize it, exists only in the present and in the past. Anything in the future is purely hypothetical and subject to change pending on what happens in the present and in the past. Reality as far as we understand it, is constructed this way and the Mavericks have to deal with its sometimes unfriendly consequences.
---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @nba_lord for NBA news
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