DeAndre Jordan's inability to make decisions could help the Celtics land a high draft pick

According to multiple reports (Marc Stein had it first), DeAndre Jordan is having second thoughts regarding signing with the Mavericks, despite having already verbally agreed upon a 4-year, $80 million contract last week. Because of the NBA's moratorium, the contract cannot become official until tomorrow, which means theoretically Jordan could break his verbal agreement and return to LA.

The Clippers smell blood in the water, and Doc Rivers, Blake Griffin, and possibly Chris Paul are all rushing to Houston to try and win back their ex-lover/big man.

First off, this is a MAJOR violation of contractual negotiations in the NBA (and really in every business). Once contracts are agreed upon and both parties are aware of it, it's an overall crappy move to back out (and a crappy move to keep pursuing, looking at you Doc). But it also makes for great drama. Imagine Mark Cuban's reaction to all of this if Jordan backs out? He may well murder Jordan, Doc, Griffin, and anyone else within a 100-mile radius if it goes down.

But what I'm more intrigued by is the Celtics' connection to all of this. Remember, the Cs own the Mavericks 2016 1st round pick, top-seven protected, thanks to the Rajon Rondo deal. With Jordan (plus Wes Matthews) joining Dirk and Chandler Parsons, the Mavs seem like a low-level playoff team out West. But take Jordan away, and the Mavs suddenly look a lot weaker, and it will be a major challenge to spend their new found cap space on something worthy this late in free agency.

Take a look at this roster:


Is that a playoff team out West? No shot. Even adding in a few more solid players, it's hard to imagine that roster gets it done in a murderous Southwest division.

It also seems like a roster that's a little too good to tank, at least to the point where the Mavs pick top-seven. Dirk, Parsons and Matthews (if healthy) with any serviceable big man seems like a team that will find it's way to at least 30 wins. So despite Cuban's claims that his team would indeed try and tank if they didn't land DeAndre, it's going to be pretty tough to lose enough games to keep that pick.

So as a Celtics fan, you should have a close eye on this situation. First off, for the pure entertainment factor of a Cuban vs Doc showdown. And secondly, for the much improved chance the Cs land an additional lottery pick next season if DeAndre ends up back with his ex.


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