Is there any chance that this could effect our deal with L.A. if suddenly the Mavs make a better offer? I'd love to get something of value for Hibbert if we have to move him, at least a first round pick.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/story/...llas-mavericksThe Los Angeles Clippers are making significant progress in their unconventional bid to persuade DeAndre Jordan to reconsider his decision to sign with the Mavericks after Jordan verbally committed to join Dallas last week, according to league sources.Sources said Wednesday afternoon that Jordan is increasingly "leaning" toward a return to the team that drafted him, with the Clippers indeed "optimistic" he will stay in L.A.
Sources told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne that Jordan reached out to Clippers star Blake Griffin and coach/team president Doc Rivers on Monday to say he was having second thoughts about joining Dallas, prompting L.A.'s late push to change his mind.
Free agents are traditionally considered off-limits once they strike verbal agreements with teams during the NBA's annual moratorium period, but sources said Rivers and owner Steve Ballmer met with Jordan later Wednesday in Houston -- where Jordan has an offseason home -- in hopes of persuading him to walk away from the four-year, $80-plus million max deal he committed to with the Mavericks and instead stay with L.A.
Star guard Chris Paul -- after cutting short his Caribbean vacation with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade -- new recruit Paul Pierce and veteran guard J.J. Redick were among the Clippers players to join that meeting, sources said.
Paul was emotional during the meeting, a source in the room told ESPN's Chris Broussard. Paul told Jordan he had no idea he felt negatively about him and that he thought they were "brothers.'' Paul said he'd work to get Jordan more involved in the offense and that the Clippers couldn't move forward without him.
When the meeting ended, some of the Clippers remained at Jordan's home despite being aware that Mavericks owner Mark Cuban had landed in Houston with intentions to meet with Jordan, the source told Broussard.
Cuban arrived in Houston earlier Wednesday as Dallas tried to fend off the Clippers' threat, sources said. The Mavs, sources said, have been promised another face-to-face meeting with Jordan at some point Wednesday before he makes a final decision, with small forward Chandler Parsons -- Dallas' lead recruiter in the pursuit of the free agent -- also trying to get to Houston to join Cuban in that meeting.
Jordan informed both teams of his decision to join the Mavericks on Friday before flying to Houston. The Mavericks' hope was always to sign Jordan to his new contract formally on Thursday, when teams and players can formally sign contracts once the leaguewide moratorium is lifted.
But now the Clippers, sources say, believe there is a real chance they will persuade Jordan to board a plane back to Los Angeles on Wednesday to sign a new contract with the team.
Before Jordan made the decision to join the Mavs, he and Griffin spoke several times. Sources close to the situation told Shelburne that Jordan was concerned about Griffin being traded in the next two years because the Clippers have continued to fail in the playoffs. He also had concerns about whether Griffin intended to stay with L.A. after 2017, when both Griffin and Paul can become free agents.
Jordan asked Griffin about his future. Griffin told him to make his own decision, sources said, and that he'd support him with whatever he decided. When Jordan called Griffin to tell him that he'd chosen the Mavericks, Griffin said he was happy for him if he was happy with his own decision. On Monday, though, Jordan called Griffin again and said he'd been having second thoughts about his decision over the weekend. Griffin urged him to call Rivers, who then began calling Clippers players and organizing a meeting Wednesday, in the hopes of getting Jordan to change his mind before the leaguewide moratorium ends at midnight.
Griffin flew to Houston on Tuesday to have dinner with Jordan, sources said.
Paul -- whose reportedly strained relationship with Jordan has been pinpointed as a factor in the center's initial decision to take Dallas' offer -- has been among those pushing hardest in recent days for Jordan to change his mind, sources said.
The NBA's moratorium period at the start of July every year is designed to allow the league to calculate the precise new salary cap and luxury-tax figures for the coming season. But teams and players are allowed to come to verbal agreements during the moratorium starting July 1. The first seven days of 2015 free agency produced a frenzy that has seen roughly 70 free agents come to terms on new contracts.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/story/...llas-mavericksThe Los Angeles Clippers are making significant progress in their unconventional bid to persuade DeAndre Jordan to reconsider his decision to sign with the Mavericks after Jordan verbally committed to join Dallas last week, according to league sources.Sources said Wednesday afternoon that Jordan is increasingly "leaning" toward a return to the team that drafted him, with the Clippers indeed "optimistic" he will stay in L.A.
Sources told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne that Jordan reached out to Clippers star Blake Griffin and coach/team president Doc Rivers on Monday to say he was having second thoughts about joining Dallas, prompting L.A.'s late push to change his mind.
Free agents are traditionally considered off-limits once they strike verbal agreements with teams during the NBA's annual moratorium period, but sources said Rivers and owner Steve Ballmer met with Jordan later Wednesday in Houston -- where Jordan has an offseason home -- in hopes of persuading him to walk away from the four-year, $80-plus million max deal he committed to with the Mavericks and instead stay with L.A.
Star guard Chris Paul -- after cutting short his Caribbean vacation with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade -- new recruit Paul Pierce and veteran guard J.J. Redick were among the Clippers players to join that meeting, sources said.
Paul was emotional during the meeting, a source in the room told ESPN's Chris Broussard. Paul told Jordan he had no idea he felt negatively about him and that he thought they were "brothers.'' Paul said he'd work to get Jordan more involved in the offense and that the Clippers couldn't move forward without him.
When the meeting ended, some of the Clippers remained at Jordan's home despite being aware that Mavericks owner Mark Cuban had landed in Houston with intentions to meet with Jordan, the source told Broussard.
Cuban arrived in Houston earlier Wednesday as Dallas tried to fend off the Clippers' threat, sources said. The Mavs, sources said, have been promised another face-to-face meeting with Jordan at some point Wednesday before he makes a final decision, with small forward Chandler Parsons -- Dallas' lead recruiter in the pursuit of the free agent -- also trying to get to Houston to join Cuban in that meeting.
Jordan informed both teams of his decision to join the Mavericks on Friday before flying to Houston. The Mavericks' hope was always to sign Jordan to his new contract formally on Thursday, when teams and players can formally sign contracts once the leaguewide moratorium is lifted.
But now the Clippers, sources say, believe there is a real chance they will persuade Jordan to board a plane back to Los Angeles on Wednesday to sign a new contract with the team.
Before Jordan made the decision to join the Mavs, he and Griffin spoke several times. Sources close to the situation told Shelburne that Jordan was concerned about Griffin being traded in the next two years because the Clippers have continued to fail in the playoffs. He also had concerns about whether Griffin intended to stay with L.A. after 2017, when both Griffin and Paul can become free agents.
Jordan asked Griffin about his future. Griffin told him to make his own decision, sources said, and that he'd support him with whatever he decided. When Jordan called Griffin to tell him that he'd chosen the Mavericks, Griffin said he was happy for him if he was happy with his own decision. On Monday, though, Jordan called Griffin again and said he'd been having second thoughts about his decision over the weekend. Griffin urged him to call Rivers, who then began calling Clippers players and organizing a meeting Wednesday, in the hopes of getting Jordan to change his mind before the leaguewide moratorium ends at midnight.
Griffin flew to Houston on Tuesday to have dinner with Jordan, sources said.
Paul -- whose reportedly strained relationship with Jordan has been pinpointed as a factor in the center's initial decision to take Dallas' offer -- has been among those pushing hardest in recent days for Jordan to change his mind, sources said.
The NBA's moratorium period at the start of July every year is designed to allow the league to calculate the precise new salary cap and luxury-tax figures for the coming season. But teams and players are allowed to come to verbal agreements during the moratorium starting July 1. The first seven days of 2015 free agency produced a frenzy that has seen roughly 70 free agents come to terms on new contracts.