Report: Clippers thought they were close to trading DeAndre Jordan to Cavaliers

Like with Lou Williams, the Clippers were working multiple fronts on DeAndre Jordan in advance of Thursday’s trade deadline – a trade or extension.

Unlike with Williams, who signed an extension, there was no deal with Jordan.

But did anything come close?

Clippers executives Lawrence Frank and Jerry West said the team offered Jordan an extension. And he certainly came up in trade talks.

ESPN:

The pieces were in place Thursday, and the Los Angeles Clippers thought they were close to a deal that would have sent starting center DeAndre Jordan to the Cavaliers, when news surfaced of the blockbuster trade that Cleveland instead had with the Lakers, sources have told ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.

Jordan, via Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times:

“I tell the truth,” Jordan said Friday. “No offer.”

This is all so cloudy.

Just because the Clippers thought they were close to trading Jordan to Cleveland doesn’t mean they were right. It’s can be very hard to ascertain another team’s thinking. The Cavs, of course, made a couple blockbuster trades elsewhere.

If Jordan set parameters for an acceptable extension and the Clippers proposed less, was that an “offer”? They might say yes. He might say no.

What’s clear: Jordan is still with L.A. and will be for the rest of the season. He holds a $24,119,025 player option for next season, and he’s still extension-eligible until he opts out (or Jun 30, 2019 if he opts in).

It’s too late to unilaterally trade him. Now, it’s predicated on him opting in. And there’s at least miscommunication – and maybe even, especially now, mistrust – interfering with a possible extension.