LeBron James Comments on DeAndre Jordan Scandal in Exclusive B/R Interview

LeBron James is no stranger to very public and controversial decisions, so there's not many people better to ask about the situation involving DeAndre Jordan, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Dallas Mavericks than the former NBA MVP.

Speaking to SiriusXM Bleacher Report Radio's NBA Opening Tip show, James talked about being on vacation with Clippers star Chris Paul at the time that the Jordan saga was happening: 

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I haven't been on social media a lot lately, I kind of stayed away from it, but I heard [Jordan] committed to Dallas at one point, and I was telling Chris at the time 'that's a huge blow for you guys.' ... Then a couple days later, you know, while we're still on vacation, they say he's having a change of heart, and so I think Chris had a lot more information than he was giving us.

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Following up that final tongue-in-cheek comment, James did say that the decision by Jordan to return to the Clippers instead of joining the Mavericks was confounding. 

"When [Jordan] changed his mind, it was like 'oh, man,'" James said. "I didn't know what to think of it. Until you can actually sign, we all know now going forward you can't get too high or too low just because a guy verbally commits on July 1."

After verbally agreeing to a deal with the Mavericks on July 3, Jordan began to have second thoughts shortly before free agents were allowed to sign contracts with teams on July 9. 

That opened a window for the Clippers to convince Jordan to return, and some members of the franchise took that small opening and walked into his house without leaving before a deal was signed, according to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne. 

Jordan officially re-signed with the Clippers on July 9, receiving a four-year deal worth $88 million, according to ESPN.com. He has since apologized to the Mavericks and their owner, Mark Cuban, on Twitter. 

Given the way James left Cleveland for Miami back in 2010 with "The Decision," he understands the kind of venom that can be spewed when one fanbase feels like it's been betrayed. Yet his final thought about nothing being done until a deal is signed will impact the way teams conduct business moving forward.   

The NBA Opening Tip w/Howard Beck and Ethan Skolnick appears Sundays from 9-11 a.m. ET on Sirius 93, XM 208.