In 2015, DeAndre Jordan agreed to a contract with Mavericks then backed out to re-sign with the Clippers.
This won’t cause the same uproar, but Dallas has been left at the altar once again.
Yogi Ferrell won’t sign his agreed-upon deal.
Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports:
Sources: Guard Yogi Ferrell has changed course on Dallas Mavericks deal in order to reenter free agency. “We felt uncomfortable and will weigh our options,” agent Cervando Tejeda said.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 20, 2018
Ferrell agreed to an unbelievably stupid contract. He could have accepted his fully guaranteed, one-year qualifying offer for $2,919,204. Instead, he took a lower salary for next season AND agreed to attach a cheap fully unguaranteed second season. If Ferrell plays well, the Mavericks will keep him for a relatively low salary in 2019-20. If he doesn’t, they’ll waive him at no cost.
In other words, Ferrell gave Dallas a discount for next season and all the power for the following season. There was no tradeoff. Ferrell lost in every aspect of the deal.
He and Tejada never should have accepted it in the first place. But backing out now also carries a reputation hit, especially for Tejada.
Though this reflects more poorly on Tejada, Ferrell will take more egg on his face, because he’s a public figure and gave some now-unfortunate comments.
Andy McDonnell of WANE-TV:
.@YogiFerrell11 on his new contract with the @dallasmavs saying that he "wouldn't want to be anywhere else" pic.twitter.com/Jj8Gj7J39N
— Andy Mac (@AndyMacSports) July 19, 2018
What now for Ferrell?
The Mavericks still have his Early Bird Rights and a low cap hold on him. They could pay him a little more without interfering with their other moves.
But Ferrell – an undersized scoring guard – is a marginal player. Dallas might not want to reengage with him after this. The Mavericks signed Jordan this year, but it took years and a special need for them to get over everything.
How about the Kings? They’re certainly not above negotiating with players who already struck deals with another team.