DeAndre Jordan On Chris Paul, Mavs, Clippers

DeAndre Jordan is scheduled to address the media today for the first time since he spurned the Mavs for the Clippers, but he got a jump start on explaining his story via The Players’ Tribune. Half of the piece is written and the other half is presented in a video, one in which Jordan’s struggle with his decision is apparent as he reflects on the events of two weeks ago. The entire piece is well worth your time, but we’ll pass along some of the most noteworthy quotes from the big man here:

On Chris Paul, with whom he reportedly had a rift:

“I love Chris, man. Chris is a big brother to me. When you play sports, you’re competitive — especially when you play them at as high a level as we have these last few years. And of course, yeah, we all bump heads during the course of the game. But we know that whatever criticisms or arguments we have on the floor, they’re about one thing: winning.”

On the doubt that crept into his mind following his commitment to Dallas:

“I woke up Monday morning [July 6th] feeling like there was something missing, like something that I didn’t do, something that was not covered. And that’s why, and that’s when I started to begin to have second thoughts. I feel like we’ve all had decisions in our lives where we’ve had second thoughts about things and have gone back and had to revisit a situation, and I definitely feel like that this was one of those times for me.”

On the Mavs:

“Originally, I said yes to the Mavericks because I thought I needed change. I thought I wanted change at that point in time. And they had a great presentation. They have a great owner, great coach, a championship team, but, at the same time, I felt like I didn’t give it all of my thought. At the end of the day, we’re basketball players and these great athletes, but we’re also human, and we make mistakes. We have emotions and feelings, just like everybody else.”

On the Clippers:

“I decided to stay with the Clippers because I’ve been with this team for seven years, and being on one team for my entire career was definitely important to me. I’ve been here since I was 19, so this is what I know. I love the city, I love the fans, I love my teammates and I love this organization.”

On the difficulty of breaking his deal with the Mavs:

“A lot of the guys who I was talking to during the process, they were friends of mine. That’s what made it so tough. Talking to these guys and really wanting to maybe partner up with these guys and play, and then not wanting to, it’s definitely a tough situation it puts you in. It puts you in [it] because you want to make the right decision, but you also don’t want to step on toes.”

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