The Dallas Mavericks thought they had finally landed the free agency class they were hoping for. After getting burned by Deron Williams and Chris Bosh, the Mavericks had verbal agreements with Wesley Matthews and DeAndre Jordan that were expected to become official on Thursday. However, in a last ditch effort, the Los Angeles Clippers came swooping back in for their starting center, leaving the Mavericks empty handed.
The Mavericks had the Jordan race won, until reports of doubt surfaced and the Clippers made their move. Chris Paul, Doc Rivers and Blake Griffin went to meet Jordan at his house and simply did not leave until he put pen to paper at 12:01 a.m. According to ESPN's Marc Stein, Jordan signed a deal with the Clippers worth four years and $88 million with the ability to opt out after three. The Mavericks are once again left to pick up the pieces.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, the domino effect could be a bidding war on Roy Hibbert. While the Los Angeles Lakers have a deal in place for the center, Larry Bird can easily open up negotiations and try and get more for the center. Originally before Jordan agreed to a contract, the Mavericks had negotiated a Monta Ellis-Roy Hibbert sign-and-trade deal with the Pacers, but that went away after the center gave Dallas the verbal agreement. If the Pacers sense the desperation of the Mavericks, they could make a move.
Dallas has several trade options that they could try and work through. According to Jeremy Lin's Twitter account, he is signing with Charlotte Hornets over Dallas. Despite bringing on JJ Barea, the Mavericks still need an elite point guard. The team could try and negotiation a deal with the Denver Nuggets for Ty Lawson and Kenneth Faried. Prior to the NBA Draft, ESPN and the Denver Post were reporting that both players were available for the taking. That would solve the big man problem for Dallas along with giving them a point guard. The price would likely be steep.
Could the Mavericks get in on the Brendan Haywood/Anderson Varejao talks? The Cavaliers are desperate to move Haywood for salary cap reasons. Dallas could try and get Varejao as well who is a top center when healthy. Varejao's contract is certainly not ideal to bring on, but the Mavericks cannot afford to wait around and see what develops in the market. They would likely be left with players like Carlos Boozer, Amar'e Stoudemire or JaVale McGee who are the best options left.
One thing Dallas can hang their hat on is that Jason Quick of the Oregonian is reporting Matthews will sign with Dallas regardless of the Jordan saga that took place. The Mavericks offered Matthews the best deal he will likely receive which is why he is not planning on departing. Sources say he was committed to the franchise before Jordan decided to come to Dallas as well and that will remain.
