DeAndre Jordan changes mind and signs with LA Clippers

July 9, 2015

The Los Angeles Clippers made a last ditch effort to retain their talented center DeAndre Jordan, and surprisingly succeeded, as the team announced today that they had re-signed Jordan.  Jordan had verbally committed to the Dallas Mavericks only days earlier.

With Jordan now back in the fold, the Clippers once again must be considered title contenders.

The change of heart was pleasant news to a Clippers front office that was already looking for other options to replace Jordan.  To their credit, team executives and players reportedly flew out to Jordan's Texas home and conducted a virtual siege operation, remaining encamped at his residence until the moratorium period ended so that Jordan could immediately sign his contract.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Dallas forward Chandler Parsons reportedly tried to get Jordan to reconsider, but to no avail.

Jordan, 26, averaged a career-high 11.5 points and 15.0 rebounds in 82 games (all starts) for the Clippers last season. He led the NBA in rebounds and field goal percentage (.710), his field goal percentage was the second-highest single-season mark in NBA history (W. Chamberlain, ’72-73-.727).

Although Jordan is a tremendous finisher at the rim, his offense is still a work in progress.  Jordan's real worth is on the defensive end.

The 6-foot-11 center recorded an NBA-best 13 games with 20+ rebounds and set a Clippers franchise record with 1,226 rebounds in a season. Jordan became the sixth player in NBA history to average 15.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in season. He was named to the All-NBA Third Team and First Team All Defense last season, the first time in his career to achieve those honors.

Jordan led the NBA in field goal percentage and rebounds per game for both the 2013-14 (67.6% FG% and 13.6 rpg) and 2014-15 (71.0% FG% and 15.0 rpg) seasons. Only Jordan, Dwight Howard, and Wilt Chamberlain have finished a season atop the league in both categories.

Originally drafted with the 35th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft out of Texas A&M, Jordan has appeared in 515 career games (413 starts) for the Clippers, averaging 8.0 points and 9.0 rebounds. The Houston native has appeared in 322 straight games, the longest current streak in the NBA.

The team also signed free agent small forward Wes Johnson.

Johnson, 27, averaged 9.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 76 games (59 starts) for the Los Angeles Lakers last season. The five-year NBA veteran brings career averages of 8.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 25.7 minutes in 349 games (269 starts) with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, and Lakers.

Johnson is an excellent athlete and a good leaper, but is plagued by inconsistency, as he has yet to prove that he can regularly create his own shot.

The Corsicana, Texas native was originally drafted by the Timberwolves with the 4th pick in the first round of the 2010 NBA Draft. The 6-foot-7 Johnson played his first two years of collegiate basketball at Iowa State before transferring to Syracuse. In one season for the Orange he was named the Big East Player of the Year and a First Team All-American after averaging 16.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 35 games (all starts).

By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com and news services

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