While Everyone Is Hating DeAndre Jordan, Let's Try To Understand Him
DeAndre Jordan has been the center of the NBA world for the past week -- no pun intended.
His decision to stay in Los Angeles has Clippers fans ecstatic, Dallas fans outraged and NBA analysts questioning his professionalism.
do not doubt this man pic.twitter.com/uJCnjfjU3T — James Herbert (@outsidethenba) July 3, 2015
Chandler Parsons, the one who enjoyed a short-lived fame for recruiting him to come to Dallas, had some choice words for Deandre in an interview with ESPN recently.
“I’m shocked, very disappointed, frustrated, disrespected. This is something that I’ve never seen in my career, and I know that it doesn’t happen very often." "When a man gives you his word and an organization his word, especially when that organization put in so much effort and I walked him through this process and was very, very open and willing to work with him, it’s just very unethical and disrespectful.”
He went on to attack DeAndre as a player, too, saying:
“He wasn’t ready for being a franchise player. He was scared. He was scared to take the next step in his career. There was no other reason other than that he was comfortable and he has friendships there. How you make a business decision like that is beyond me. How you ignore an owner like Mark who is in your hometown just waiting for a chance to talk to you is beyond me."
Chandler certainly had no fear of the repercussions of his comments in that interview, even electing to cut off his interviewer before they finished a question.
So, if you're Mark Cuban and the Mavericks, you have to be upset. The guy who just agreed to spend the rest of his career with your team and help win a championship backed out at the last second.
Now the question arises: Did DeAndre Jordan hurt his reputation as a professional?
He agreed to terms and had cold feet which is fine. What isn't fine is that his contact with the Mavericks as he moved toward his decision with the Clippers was scarce.
Mark Cuban is revered as a businessman and is straight to the point and decisive with everything. Parsons is right by saying that it was unethical of DeAndre to just leave a man of Mark's status hanging.
DeAndre lacked the professionalism to communicate with them sooner, and now the Mavs have a dilemma looking ahead to next season. It's understandable that people are outraged by his indecision.
Just Like Us
Being angry for his lack of communication is okay. Being angry for wanting to go back to the Clippers, though, is not. Too often, professional athletes are placed on pedestals that earn them much praise and much disdain.
Robert Smith's book, "The Rest of The Iceberg," touches on the flaws of our society for treating high-profile athletes like gods, not realizing that they, like us, are people too.
DeAndre's change of heart should show us he's human, too (in case you forgot). It's okay to change your mind; it's even better to follow your heart. He's better off rectifying what was wrong with the Clippers and trying again in a comfortable environment, rather than taking a chance in Dallas and regretting what could have been.
Of course, he has a huge contract to live up to, and hopefully he won't have to regret not picking the Mavericks. Whatever Chris Paul, Doc Rivers and the rest of the Clippers said to DeAndre to assuage him, it was pretty powerful.
Kate Fagan appeared on "First Take," defending Jordan for following his heart and doing what felt right.
Chris Paul had ended his vacation early to meet with DeAndre and clear up the fact that he never had problems with him, although DeAndre felt otherwise prior to these meetings.
That aspect of the situation certainly clouds what type of relationship Paul and Jordan had, whether or not they could handle each other as teammates before, and where they'll be next year.
Moving Forward
Good idea I heard: the NBA makes rule where players have to sign something akin to a letter of intent when they verbally agree to a deal — Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) July 9, 2015
Now that tweet might seem a little ridiculous, but thinking of it from an owner's standpoint, many might want to consider something of the sort to avoid similar ordeals like Cuban and DeAndre's.
This isn't the first time a player has backed out of an agreement, either.
The NBA, otherwise, is pretty much separate from this whole affair.
It's a team/owners issue, and unless Mark Cuban proposes and petitions for Broussard's idea to be an actual part of signing, we're just going to have to live with the fact that some players — just like all humans -- have second thoughts.
