DeAndre Jordan did not pick up his option year with the Clippers, he is an unrestricted free agent. Most sources have him landing with the Dallas Mavericks, who tried to sign him three years ago, tried to trade for him days ago, and is clearing out cap space to land him.
But one suitor is going to make a longshot bid — the Golden State Warriors. From Marc Stein of the New York Times.
The Warriors know this has a marginal chance of success, but league sources say they intend to at least explore their free-agent chances with DeAndre Jordan, who is not only close pals with Kevin Durant but also one of GM Bob Myers' former clients
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 30, 2018
Such a move would require Jordan to take a deal starting at the taxpayer midlevel exception of $5.3 mil -- which would cost the Warriors more like $27 mil next season. But it has been whispered around the Warriors for months that they will at least explore making a run at Jordan https://t.co/YMkABpbq3v
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 30, 2018
If you’re the Warriors, you take your shot. Why not?
While Golden State will not land Jordan, that $5.3 taxpayer midlevel is going to net them somebody of quality in what is a tight market. After the handful of big names at the top of the board getting max deals (LeBron James, Paul George, Chris Paul, etc.) there are a lot of good players on the market who are not going to get the money they expect — not that many teams have cap space, and a number don’t even have the full $9 million mid-level exception because they are too close to the tax line. For a good role player who can’t find the payday they hoped for, the Warriors are a chance to win and raise your profile.
One name I have heard tied to them: Jamal Crawford. That could even be for a league minimum deal, leaving the tax-payer midlevel for Golden State to add even more depth to their roster.
