*The facts are simple. DeAndre Jordan agreed to a free agent contract with the Dallas Mavericks before he could; DeAndre Jordan second guessed his decision; DeAndre Jordan reneged on his agreement with the Mavericks and signed a contract with his original team the Los Angeles Clippers.
According to the current NBA modus operandi, there is a week in which contracts can be negotiated but not signed at the start of the leagues fiscal year. Because of this, the events surrounding DeAndre Jordan’s free agency were perfectly legal.
There are three ways this situation can go. The NBA can keep the situation as it is; the NBA can change their system of free agency so that contracts can be signed at the beginning of the fiscal year (essentially moving the signing period up to coincide with the negotiations); the NBA can change their system of free agency so that negotiations cannot start until contracts are able to be signed (essentially the opposite).
The NBA has been operating in this fashion for years and this is the first time that such a fuss has been raised over someone changing their mind. So from that perspective it would seem that no changes are necessary. But the DeAndre Jordan negotiations and signing highlight the fact that players can really hamper a team when a verbal commitment is not honored. It is unlikely that a player would intentionally come to a verbal agreement with Team A and then sign somewhere else to undermine them. But the fact that it is possible for such a nefarious scenario to play out is no way to run a business when all of the franchises are in a partnership. Clearly the system as it stands cannot remain.
This leaves two choices. Give teams the ability to negotiate and sign players as soon as the fiscal year begins or restrict teams from negotiating and signing players for about a week. Because the NBA needs a little time to determine the salary cap for the upcoming season is the original reasoning behind the signing moratorium. And because of this moving the signing period up to day one of the new fiscal year should not really be an option. Doing so would put teams in the position of overextending themselves before knowing how much money they have to spend. Or it could lead to artificially lowering player contracts as teams operate extra cautiously to ensure that they stay under the salary cap.
The solution is quite clear: move the ability to negotiate back to the coincide with the announcement of the salary cap. As we have seen with DeAndre Jordan it makes very little sense to negotiate without the ability of both sides to actually agree. This solution is not foolproof mind you. People could begin negotiating early. But there isn’t a way to conduct free agency that avoids that fact. I’m sure players are being recruited through friends of friends and wives etc. throughout each season. But when teams officially start talking to a player the ability to put a contract on the table is crucial.
The problem that the DeAndre Jordan situation illuminated is not just a problem for the Mavericks, although it will affect them the most during the upcoming season. No this problem trickled down to every other team in need of a power forward or center. Certain negotiations only took place once teams knew DeAndre Jordan was not an option and once other players knew the Mavericks were not an option. Furthermore the amount he would sign for would influence what teams offered other players. So the DeAndre Jordan situation affected a handful of teams that might be happier with a different player but didn’t get a chance to pursue that player because of the false reality that DeAndre Jordan’s agreement with the Mavericks created.
One of the critical eras of American history is the early 19th century when the country experienced its first burst of economic growth. The sanctity of contracts was an important element of that growth. The NBA is currently operating with teams and players having the ability to a sort of pseudo-contract. That simply is not good enough nor is it realistic to think that teams will allow this to continue.
Trevor Brookins is a free lance writer in Rockland County, New York. He is currently working on a book about American culture during the Cold War. His writing has appeared in The Journal News. You can reach him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @historictrev.
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