DeAndre Jordan Signs with Clippers Despite Prior Agreement with Mavericks

At long last, an ending to the NBA's strangest summer soap opera may now be in sight.

According to the Los Angeles Clippers' official Twitter account, DeAndre Jordan is returning to the team less than a week after reportedly agreeing to terms on a four-year, $80 million deal with the Dallas Mavericks on July 3:

ESPN's Marc Stein and USA Today's Sam Amick reported Jordan has opted for a four-year max contract with the Clips, even though he could push for a five-year deal.

Stein added the deal is worth $88 million. However, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports noted Jordan hasn't received an agent certification on his contract yet.

While Jordan had previously agreed to a deal with the Mavericks to return to his home state of Texas, the NBA's moratorium period prohibited him from physically inking a deal or even verbally stating his intentions, according to NBA.com's David Aldridge:

Clippers head coach Doc Rivers spoke about the signing at a press conference after the signing. Rivers said he was unsure when he realized Jordan had a change of heart, speculating it was Sunday or Monday, according to Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press. 

Arasha Markazi of ESPN provided more comments from Rivers:

Rivers also acknowledged there were things both sides could have done differently in the negotiation process, per Markazi.

Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe provided a statement from the NBPA:

"Free agent agreements made during the moratorium are ephemeral—they’re ghosts, illusions—agreements that aren’t really agreements," CBAFAQ.com's Larry Coon wrote. 

After making a cursory commitment, Jordan reportedly reconsidered his future before signings could be made official when the moratorium concluded at midnight on July 9. 

"Sources said Jordan reached out to [Blake] Griffin and [Doc] Rivers on Monday to say he had changed his mind about joining Dallas, prompting L.A.'s late push," ESPN.com's Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne wrote. 

Shelburne also added, per a Clippers player, that Jordan felt his agent pushed him toward signing with the Mavericks, but he changed his mind over the weekend.

On Wednesday, a Clippers contingent consisting of Rivers, owner Steve Ballmer, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, J.J. Redick and Paul Pierce all traveled to Jordan's Houston home to meet with the center, per Wojnarowski, and the guts of the sit-down reportedly didn't take very long: 

While the Clippers' star-studded group was able to swiftly secure a last-minute meeting with Jordan, the same didn't hold true for the Mavericks, according to ESPN.com's Tim MacMahon: 

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban confirmed as much on July 9, per McMahon:

Jordan later apologized to Cuban following his decision to remain with the Clippers:

Stein believes the league's moratorium rules are bound to be put under the microscope following Jordan's late change of heart:

Jordan's decision was terribly controversial, but financially and tactically, it makes sense for the 26-year-old. 

Because the Clippers hold Jordan's Bird rights, they are able to pay him more than the Mavs could on a per-year basis.

Furthermore, L.A. appears dedicated to making Jordan a more integral component of the team's scheme next season, according to ESPN.com's Chris Broussard:

Last season, Griffin, Jordan, Paul and Redick posted a league-best offensive rating and generally torched opponents when they shared the floor, according to ESPN Stats & Info:

Individually, Jordan was a two-way wrecking ball, averaging 11.5 points, a league-high 15.0 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and 1.0 steals while shooting a league-best 71.0 percent from the field.

He went on to finish third in Defensive Player of the Year voting behind Kawhi Leonard and Draymond Green and was also selected to the All-Defensive first team and All-NBA third team. 

The Clippers' title hopes appeared to be fading just 24 hours ago, but they've suddenly been revived thanks to Jordan's change of heart. Now L.A. will return the entirety of its superstar core from last season's Western Conference semifinal run and look to make deeper postseason inroads with Jordan back manning the middle. 

As for the Mavericks, they're already turning their attention elsewhere, according to Berger: 

Regardless of what moves the Mavericks make to mitigate the sting of Jordan's heel turn, the next few days across the Association should be fascinating.