DeAndre Jordan Was 'Never' on Trade Block, According to Clippers Executive

Los Angeles Clippers executive vice president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank denied Thursday that the team placed center DeAndre Jordan on the trade block.      

"DeAndre was never, ever dangled out there," Frank said, according to ESPN.com news services. 

"DeAndre's a cornerstone to what we do, and it's funny, if you track every rumor, literally every single player outside of maybe the guys on Golden State and LeBron were mentioned. So, you know, in the front office what we've learned quickly is you can't dispel everything."        

On Wednesday, ESPN.com's Chris Haynes reported the Clippers had "gauged the market" for Jordan.

According to Haynes' sources, talks with interested clubs were only considered "exploratory." 

Last season, Jordan averaged 12.7 points, 13.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks while shooting a league-high 71.4 percent from the field. According to Basketball Reference, Andre Drummond and Hassan Whiteside were the only other players to average at least 12 points, 13 boards and a block during the 2016-17 campaign. 

The 28-year-old is scheduled to earn $22.6 million next year and will be able to test free agency as early as July 2018 if he declines a player option worth $24.1 million for the 2018-19 season.