Was DeAndre Jordan rude?

A week ago DeAndre Jordan made a verbal agreement to go to the Mavericks on a four-year $80 million deal. However, right before NBA Free Agency officially began, he ended up in talks with the Clippers. They ended up re-signing him for around $88 million for four years with a big third-year player option. When we factor in tax differences between California and Texas, DeAndre likely left some money on the table. When we factor in contract flexibility, the new CBA, market size, and strength of the team? Well, DeAndre Jordan made an intelligent career choice. To be clear, both the Mavericks and Clippers are franchises any player should feel lucky to get to play for. The Clippers, Rivers family and all, are currently just a better option. But at the end of the mayhem, a notable criticism came up about DeAndre Jordan -- he was rude.

After the Clippers got DeAndre's ear, a somewhat hilarious story popped up. DeAndre was avoiding Mark Cuban. Mark Cuban verified that DeAndre did not respond at all to him the day before he signed with the Clippers. ESPN went as far as possibly making up stories that Mark Cuban was driving around looking for DeAndre's house. The same stories claimed the Clippers were staying at DeAndre's house to ensure he wouldn't leave to talk to Cuban. Hoopla aside, the consensus seems to be - for basketball reasons it makes sense what DeAndre did. However, he was very rude in how he conducted himself, and that's unacceptable.

Excuse me while I collect myself. I've got to ask those basketball fans that think this way:"What effing sport have you been watching?"

Do NBA fans genuinely care about politeness and manners and treating other humans with dignity? Let's start with NBA coaches. On a regular basis, their job is to berate players and act incensed. In fact, calm coaches like Phil Jackson, who said he would let his players play through bad stretches, are considered anomalies. You can't let players walk all over you. That means if they play poorly you bench them, you scold them, you teach them a lesson! In fact, an NBA coach that asked please, said thank you, and spoke in a reasonable voice would get laughed at by the fans and the players!

Then we have the NBA's relationship with the media. When games are over, players are required to interact with the media. Refusing to do this can result in fines. And the media can ask critical or stupid questions. The media can get upset that after a player played three hours of basketball that ends at midnight, he might want to bring his daughter to the meeting. I'm fine accepting this as part of the job, but it is in no way polite.

And let's just talk NBA owners. As we frequently mention, the NBA does not work like a regular business. The draft essentially means players have the first five years of their career decided without their control. Even when free agency comes around, the convoluted CBA rules dictate where a player can sign and for how much. Such a player's options are very limited. And it's worth noting that when players don't behave the way that the owners want in NBA free agency, owners get upset. Remember LeBron's decision? LeBron got so much hate for this that a billionaire that used predatory home loans and used comic sans somehow wasn't considered the biggest jerk! Even DeAndre got some passive aggressive heat from Mark Cuban, who explained that Wes Matthews was the type of player the Mavericks wanted. But let's talk respect. In the NBA, players are not treated as humans, they are treated as assets. And fans don't typically care, because those assets earn millions. That's an argument that's never sat well with me, but regardless, it is, again, in no way "polite".

The entire NBA industry is built around people that aren't polite and aren't expected (or required) to be. Fans accept that. Of course coaches yell, that's their job. Of course the media asks those questions, it's their job to get headlines! Of course owners will trade players, cut players, etc. it's their job to win a title! But when a player does their job (maximize their earnings and chance of a title) suddenly it's unacceptable to be rude? Really? I don't buy it. We talk the class and race implications in the NBA and one of the places we frequently see it is in NBA free agency. And all I can say is, it's fine if you want to be upset with DeAndre Jordan for being rude. That said, I'm amazed you're an NBA fan, because you should be downright furious with the rampant impoliteness running around the NBA.

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