LOS ANGELES – The LA Clippers held their annual exit interviews on Thursday afternoon, with both head coach Doc Rivers and President Lawrence Frank available to speak on a number of topics as the team heads into another offseason of uncertainty. The Clippers have a coupe of players with options in their contracts for the 2018-19 season, and one of those players is star DeAndre Jordan.
Jordan earned $22.6 million this season, and is set to make 24.1 million if he opts into the final year of his deal. When asked about arguably the hottest topic of the offseason for the Clippers, Frank said there's a contract on the table for him to remain past this season, but wouldn't go into specifics since a lot of it is up to Jordan.
“You know, it's up to DeAndre Jordan,” said Frank on Thursday. “DJ has a player option, so right now, we'll continue to have dialgoue with him and his agent but its essentially DJ's option. There is a contract for him next year if he wants to be here and so we'll continue to have conversations. DJ is one of the elite rim protectors and rebounders, so we'll deal with that as we progress through the offseason.”
LA #Clippers President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank says that although DeAndre Jordan (@DeAndre) has a player option, the team will continue to have dialogue with him and his agent – "There is a contract for him next year if he wants to be here." pic.twitter.com/0a8nvYIPJO
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) April 12, 2018
After the NBA trade deadline back on February February 8th, LA Clippers consultant Jerry West met with a group of season ticket holders to answer questions and discuss some of organizations' decisions. One of the things he mentioned was that the team offered the Jordan a contract extension, which shocked many and led to fans thinking Jordan didn't want to stay with the team beyond this year.
Jordan then took to Twitter to hint that he was never offered or denied a deal.
To which DJ has now responded with… pic.twitter.com/ReT6nWxbIm
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) February 9, 2018
When asked about a possible extension on February 9th, Jordan denied ever being offered an extension, according to LA Times' Brad Turner.
“I tell the truth,” Jordan said Friday. “No offer. My name has been coming up for the past three years. I'm used to it, but I've been playing. I've been loyal. That's all I know how to do. I want to finish my career wherever I'm wanted and appreciated. That's all.”
The Clippers want to, and should want to, keep DeAndre Jordan next season and beyond. However, one thing that's been evident is that they will not overpay for his services should they feel he's out of their range. The advantage the Clippers have is that, since Jordan is still their player, they can negotiate with him and his camp prior to the July 1 date where free agency talks around the league begin.
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