Mavs Look to Survive Another Incomplete Offseason After DeAndre Jordan Reversal

The Dallas Mavericks will proceed with offseason contingency plans after losing out on prized target DeAndre Jordan, the highly sought-after physical specimen who's established himself as one of the league's elite centers in seven seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers.

After initially agreeing to sign with Dallas on Friday, according to Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News, Jordan reversed course and opted to remain with the organization that selected him with the 35th overall pick in 2008, as the team's official Twitter account confirmed shortly after midnight Eastern Time:

The 11th-hour reversal of fortune echoes past offseason failures in Dallas and threatens to derail the latest bid to assemble a contender around an aging Dirk Nowitzki, last summer's key free-agent acquisition Chandler Parsons and shooting guard Wes Matthews, who agreed to a four-year deal with the franchise earlier this month, per Sam Amick of USA Today.

It's not quite the end for an ever-creative front-office enterprise helmed by the likes of owner Mark Cuban and general manager Donnie Nelson. If any team can extricate itself from this mess and assemble a winner in short order, this is probably it.

The Mavericks' regular appearances in the postseason are a testament to the organization's roster-building prowess—especially when that prowess has been used to execute plan Bs and Cs.

Yes, the Mavericks can still find their way. But it won't be with Jordan—not after the heist just perpetrated by the incumbent Clippers.

The Evolution of a Free-Agency Debacle

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Here's how what can only be described as pure free-agent madness went down. It started with news that Clippers head coach Doc Rivers had arrived in Houston with one item on his agenda, per Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski:

As Jordan apparently began to indicate hesitation about his decision to join the Mavericks, L.A. was ready to pounce:

And pounce it did—with quite the entourage in tow:

Then came a slightly bizarre scenario in which the Clippers and Jordan apparently closed themselves off from the ever-inquisitive outside world, as ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne, Wojnarowski and ESPN.com's Tim MacMahon relayed:

After things got weird, word began trickling out—first, apparently, within the Mavericks organization, per ESPN.com's Marc Stein:

Now the Mavericks are left to consider a number of second- and third-best scenarios, as CBS Sports' Ken Berger noted, just hours after believing that they landed one of free agency's most sought-after commodities:

It's an unusual situation. As Stein and Shelburne noted, "Free agents are traditionally considered off-limits once they strike verbal agreements with teams during the NBA's annual moratorium period."

The ESPN writers continued:

"

Sources say Jordan, in a Wednesday meeting at his Houston home with several Los Angeles teammates and top team officials, left the Clippers with the clear message that he intends to renege on Friday's commitment to sign a four-year, $80-plus million max deal with the Mavericks and re-sign a lucrative deal with the Clippers instead.

"

And it's a situation that won't go over particularly well with the Mavericks, at least not recruiter-in-chief Chandler Parsons.

Meanwhile, Cuban offered his brief thoughts Thursday via Cyber Dust, per ESPN.com's Tim MacMahon (h/t the Washington Post's Matt Bonesteel):

"

There will be a time when I detail everything i know regarding the last 48 hours.

I don't think the time is right to say anything beyond the facts that he [Jordan] never responded to me at all yesterday. Not once. To this minute I have not heard anything from him since Tuesday night.

"

Though atypical and undoubtedly unpopular in many non-L.A. circles, Jordan's decision likely wasn't especially complicated. He might have enjoyed elevated usage in Dallas, but it may well have come at the expense of an opportunity to win a title in the short term. Good as those Mavericks would have been with Jordan in the fold, the organization remains without a legitimate starter at the all-important point guard position.

Dallas' only under-contract options at the moment are Raymond Felton and Devin Harris, a tandem unlikely to inspire confidence in a guy who's spent the last four seasons enjoying All-Star Chris Paul's floor leadership.

Perhaps Jordan thought better of his decision to leave Paul behind and embark on a less certain journey. The Mavericks might have made Jordan into a superstar, but it's less clear that they would have made him a winner. Parsons and Matthews would have assured him a well-spaced floor and little else.

Until the Mavericks boast a certified playmaker, this squad is incomplete—much like this offseason (and those who came before it). 

A History of Other Debacles

Noah Graham/Getty Images

There was the time Deron Williams chose the Brooklyn Nets over Dallas. And then there was 2013, when Dwight Howard opted to take his talents to a different Texas team despite the Mavericks' considerable overtures. The franchise also made a serious run at Carmelo Anthony last summer, but the superstar forward instead returned to the New York Knicks.

The organization never materialized as much of an option for Chris Bosh (2014) or LaMarcus Aldridge (this summer) despite both players' ties to the Dallas area. 

What gives? The Mavericks are consistently pretty respectable in a conference where that's actually saying something. They continue to milk Nowitzki for all he's worth, and they're run by a guy (Cuban) who will go to any length to put a winner on the floor. You know the sales pitches have to be at least somewhat compelling, particularly in the wake of Parsons' addition.

Part of the problem is that Nowitzki is no longer a superstar in his prime. Effective as the 37-year-old is, he isn't the type to single-handedly carry a club on the offensive end anymore. The real question is whether he has enough help to make one last run before the Mavericks commence the post-Dirk era in earnest. And if recent free-agent reactions are any indication, this team seems to be more than one piece short of its ambitions.

We'll never know if Jordan would have made the difference, but we can only assume he believed otherwise. And a series of prior decisions ostensibly reflect a similar belief, an estimation that the Mavericks weren't as close to another title as Cuban and Co. might suggest.

By those silent accounts, this is a second-best roster increasingly comprised of second-best free-agent additions. Matthews is a good player and all, but it's probably a bad sign that he's now headlining this summer's free-agent haul.

Surveying the Fallout

Rocky Widner/Getty Images

Regardless of Jordan's reversal, the Mavericks won't leave the offseason entirely empty-handed.

The Oregonian's Jason Quick reported Wednesday that, "Matthews says he will sign with the Dallas Mavericks regardless if center DeAndre Jordan changes his mind and returns to the Los Angeles Clippers, sources close to the player told the Oregonian/Oregonlive."

Matthews may not be the last piece Dallas acquires this summer, but he'll almost certainly be the most prominent unless the organization somehow orchestrates a significant trade. Given the recent commitment to Parsons and Nowitzki's virtually untouchable status, such a move is unlikely. Dallas would have to work some wonders with its lesser assets, which probably wouldn't net an impressive catch.

The good news is that Jordan's change of heart does free up some money. The bad news is that there's no one player available who's deserving of it, not anymore. One wrinkle is the possibility of Dallas turning around and going after a free agent who—like Jordan—has already verbally committed to a team, as pointed out by Wojnarowski:

Or, instead of landing a premier free agent with the savings this summer, Cuban and Co. will likely divide the money into multiple signings to address needs at the 1 and 5 spots.

Given that the roster has immediate holes at both positions, that might not be such a bad thing. Jordan's decision all but assures that the front office will have enough to spend on someone like former Maverick Jason Terry to help man the point.

And while the crop of available big men has rapidly dwindled, the organization could still land a halfway-decent consolation prize like former Los Angeles Lakers center Jordan Hill.

It's not the summer Mavericks fans were dreaming of, but this is survival mode for the franchise. Staying afloat in the hyper-competitive Western Conference will require some savvy maneuvering and successful free-agent pitches.

Fortunately—and unfortunately—this is familiar territory for the organization. It's learned lessons the hard way, and it's as well-prepared as any for a day like this.