DeAndre Jordan & Daly Cherry-Evans: Backflippers
DeAndre Jordan. A 26 year old centre for the Los Angeles Clippers in the NBA. Drafted in the second round, considered a risky project player due to a seemingly limited game and some emotional insecurities. Developed into an All-NBA calibre talent over 7 seasons with the Clippers, considered an elite defender and an integral player on a contending team.
Daly Cherry-Evans. A 26 year old halfback for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the NRL. A highly touted junior, he burst onto the first grade scene in 2011 to win Rookie of the Year and became the first rookie halfback to win a premiership since 1979. Now in his fifth season in the NRL, he continues to excel as one of the very best players in rugby league. Cherry-Evans has also represented both his state and his country with great success.
Two young men, two great talents. But you know what else they have in common?
Yeah, both of these dudes just reneged on massive transfers in order to stay at the club they’d planned on leaving for even more money than they’d been leaving to get. A couple of complicated and controversial sagas, eerily similar in the institutional loopholes that made them possible and the media histrionics that came with them.
The Australian media labelled Cherry-Evans’ decision a ‘backflip’ – a fitting act of contortion for the knotted saga it entailed. But whose TV dolphin impersonation scores higher?
The Situation Left Behind
DJ: One of the big reasons reported for DeAndre Jordan wanting to walk away from a competitive Clippers team with title ambitions was his crumbling relationship with All Star point guard Chris Paul. This is a factor that has been completely discredited by all Clippers personnel ever since, but that’s not always a great indication in our day and age. CP3 is notoriously grumpy and difficult. DeAndre is notoriously sensitive. It’s not a surprise that a guy might wanna leave this kind of thing behind in his professional life:
Not only that but there was the slightly humorous story that Chris Paul would often hand out hi-fives after plays to the other three teammates on the court only to conspicuously leave DeAndre hanging. Plus continuous playoff disappointment, issues over the future direction of the team (especially regarding the last couple years of Blake Griffin’s contract) and frustration about his own limited role on the team all led to DeAndre deciding he could do better elsewhere.
DCE: The Manly Sea Eagles have long been one of the premier sides in their competition, recently winning titles in 2008 and 2011, as well as making the final in 2013. But 2015 has been a disaster so far. Salary cap misdealings have meant that several integral members of the core of that team were let go and not in especially happy circumstances. Players such as Glenn Stewart and Anthony Watmough and DCE’s halves partner Kieran Foran is soon to add to the exodus. Part of the drama stemmed from accusations that DCE should have taken less money to ensure simpler re-recruitment. Other factors include concerns over player recruitment around him as well as some trust issues with the board.
The Deal On The Table
DJ: Along came the Dallas Mavericks, promising Jordan all the things that he wanted to hear. A bigger role on the offence, the chance to be the franchise’s centrepiece, complete faith and, of course, plenty of money. 4 years and $80m. Granted, if money was the decisive factor then he would never have bothered leaving in the first place because the Clippers could offer the most of it. However he’s also a Texan native and the chance to return home was a boost as well.
DCE: The Gold Coast Titans offered DCE the chance to be the face of a franchise in his home state of Queensland, as well as a $5m deal over 4 years that would have made him the highest paid player in the league. It was a risky move to leave a team with title credentials but Manly were in a mess and with DCE, the Titans would be a team on the rise. Plus he’d get to play with his buddy Nate Myles. At least that’s what he thought anyway.
The Bureaucracy
DJ: The NBA’s free agency begins at the start of July but there is a small ‘moratorium’ period first while the league is busy talking to accountants and lawyers in setting the new salary cap (among other things). So while free agents can make verbal agreements with new teams, they cannot actually sign contracts. Which means they have around a ten day period in which they can go back on an agreed deal before signing on the dotted line. Nobody really does it, for 99% of players their verbal agreements may as well be binding, but there are a few precedents. Jason Kidd actually did this to the Mavericks a few years back, verbally agreeing an extension in 2012 only to change his mind when the New York Knicks came knocking (those were the days, aye NYK fans?). Kidd said he played a round of golf and things just “didn’t feel right”. Of course, that deal was for a 39 year old point guard, not a 26 year old potential superstar. Carlos Boozer and Hedo Turkoglu have famously changed their minds in recent years, it’s never happened on this scale though. Given fears that this may have set a precedent, you can expect plenty of rallying cries to change the rules in the coming months.
DCE: Meanwhile in the NRL they already have changed them. Or at least are in the process of doing so. The system that DCE used was one that allowed players to sign with new clubs for the following season right smack in the middle of the current season, though that wasn’t the issue. The issue was the ‘Round 13 Rule’ which put a deadline at the aforementioned point in the season when player contracts for the following season were confirmed and right up until that point the player has the option and the right to ‘backflip’. It’s far more common in the NRL, you get a few cases every year of a player changing their mind, not in the least because of the pressure of having that rule in the first place. It meant that as soon as DCE signed elsewhere, suddenly the Manly recruitment campaign stepped up a gear instead of giving up. There were leaks and exaggerated scoops for a couple of months before finally Cherry-Evans announced at a press conference that he’d be staying with Manly after all. It’s now been proposed that the Round 13 Rule is scrapped altogether in favour of a 10 day ‘Cooling Off Period’, so that at least it won’t take so long next time.
The Evolution of Discontent
DJ: With DeAndre it all happened so quickly. He was reported to have declared with the Mavs on a Friday, by Wednesday his second thoughts were all over twitter. The two teams understood something was up on the Tuesday but it was made public and concluded all on the same day (Weds). Apparently DeAndre just stopped responding to people from the Mavs and that sparked things from there. He mentioned to Blake Griffin that he was having doubts, Blake told coach/GM Doc Rivers, Doc swooped swiftly and suddenly. It’s worth mentioning that at no point did he ever publically declare for the Mavs, all the public stuff was handled by owner Mark Cuban and the team.
DCE: For Daly though, things were far more drawn out. There were whispers from the start about a fallout with the Sea Eagles management. Coach Geoff Toovey and he seem to have a decent relationship (key word: ‘seem’), but Toovey and the board have been at complete odds – Toovey found out about the breakdown in contract talks with DCE while live on TV. None of that instability was endearing DCE to stay, but it was still a major shock when he actually signed with the Titans. So much so that plenty didn’t believe it. With the contract reversal always an option, everything that happened with either club after that was spun back towards Cherry-Evans’ status. When his buddy Nate Myles had his contract option declined by the Titans, Myles ended up signing with Manly for next season – a pretty massive clue. DCE publically denied all speculation but eventually it rose to a boiling point. Daly’s wife supposedly preferred the beaches of Sydney with her family all there and it was family stability that DCE really leant on when he finally announced his change of heart.
The Decision
DJ: Because of the emerging story status of this one, there was no singular moment where it became clear what would happen. At first the rumours came that he was reconsidering, that he would meet with the Clippers. But the Mavs were promised a meeting too. They never got it. The Clippers folk with him stuck around all night, refusing to leave until midnight when a contract could be signed. Hence the hostage situation dramas that emerged. In reality, his meeting with LAC was a foregone conclusion. As long as they said what he wanted them to say and what they already knew he wanted to hear then he was signing with them, no issues. They did. Then they all played cards, watched some summer league on telly and played video games. Not once did Mark Cuban or Chandler Parsons or Dirk Nowitzki try to sneak down the fireplace or knock on the door disguised as a pizza delivery man. They tried to get a hold of him but he didn’t take their calls or respond to their messages and soon, with an air of resignation, they stopped trying. Paul Pierce tweeted an image of the contract’s legitimising and that was that. There was a press conference with Doc Rivers (but no DeAndre) the next day.
DCE: Here there was a singular moment. Or maybe two. First was announcing a press conference, second was announcing at that press conference that he was staying with Manly. He answered questions and admitted some faults, while club officials spun the story into one about loyalty and dedication to a single club. A restructured offer from Manly which is about to make him the highest paid player in the game (and keep him under contract for an unprecedented 8 years) “made clear how important this club is to me and how important I am to them”. And with that it was swiftly dealt with, the Band-Aid ripped off. Not that this whole thing was about to disappear from watercooler chats anytime soon.
The Media Fallout
DJ: It’s safe to say that plenty of people found moral issues with what DeAndre did. NBA icon Clyde Drexler tweeted along the lines that his word was now about as useful as his free throw percentages, while others were even more scathing. It’s been a major news story in American sports. Mark Cuban is never shy of a word or two, he’s put out a few different statements from his own point of view, while Doc Rivers has spoken publically and defended the whole saga. DeAndre disappeared on a cruise the day after so he’s been mostly silent (mostly -> there’s an apology to come yet) while Chandler Parsons of the Mavs has had one ESPN interview where he declared he thought Jordan was “scared” to take on the role of a leading player and retreated to his comfort zone instead. Mark Cuban actually got fined US$25k for speaking publically about DeAndre’s Mavs deal before it was signed. He still has to pay that. But at least his Cyber Dust messenger app is getting plenty of publicity.
Of course, the craziest media happenings here occurred as the story was breaking. The Emoji War of 2015 will live long in many people’s memories, right next to the drama of the supposed hostage situation. Blake Griffin won that mini-saga with this tweet from deep within the bunker.
And it would be remiss not to mention the Mark Cuban slaughtering of source-less Chris Broussard on twitter.
DCE: Throughout the process, the possibility of this happening was a massive recurring narrative. Any hint of discontent was spun towards this, especially in Sydney-based media. Clubs, players and officials all said the right things to try douse the sparking flames, enough so that when the announcement came it was treated as a massive bombshell despite all the speculation. Obviously Sydney papers didn’t mind too much, even if they still milked it for every last drop, but the reaction in Queensland was… not so cheery.
The Tattered Remains
DJ: The Mavericks and Mark Cuban have long prided themselves on not falling for the same old tricks. While everyone else seemed obsessed with rebuilding through the draft by tanking for high picks, the Mavs targeted established players in free agency. The problem was, they kept turning them down. In finally having got a guy to sign a max deal with them, the plan was in place that would have them back competing for championships within a few years. Except that DeAndre Jordan backed out right at the last minute, leaving them with money to spend but nobody left on the table that was worthy of it, their season plans now disastrously inverted. It’s not a stretch to say that DJ not only ruined this upcoming season for the Mavericks but perhaps the entire future of the franchise. They were able to sign Wes Matthews and have spent some of DJ’s money on Deron Williams, but it looks like another season of mid-table obscurity for the Mavs. The chances of the team’s greatest ever player, Dirk Nowitzki, playing on a finals team again are almost gone – a shame made all the worse by the fact that he took far less money than he could have last season in order to make a deal like DeAndre’s possible.
DCE: It’s not like the Gold Coast Titans were in the best place before Daly Cherry-Evans initially signed. Repeated failures on the field and repeated failures off it too. The worst was a recreational drug scandal that a few players were caught up in at the start of the season. But they have some quality young players and DCE was supposed to be the superstar glue that brought it all together. They’d staked their future on that being the case, allowing a very capable halfback in Aidan Sezer to sign with the Canberra Raiders thinking Cherry-Evans was in the bag. Now they’re stuck without a replacement, with financial problems and dwindling crowds, about to lose their club captain in Nate Myles and quite possibly another rep. player in Greg Bird. There are even questions as to whether this club can survive now.
The Bright Future
DJ: And suddenly the Clippers are a contending team once more. They weren’t exactly gonna be at the top of the lottery with Chris Paul and Blake Griffin around, but without Jordan’s rebounding they probably would have struggled to make a playoff impact. With him, however, they believe they’ll be contending for the championship. They’ve an established core that has been filled out with the additions of Paul Pierce and Lance Stephenson, and with the continuity of not having to find a new centre or completely change the way that they play, things look good. Chris Paul reportedly made up with DeAndre, saying he had no idea that he felt that way, while Doc Rivers made some promises to involve him more on offence. In effect, he’s getting everything he was offered on Dallas except the cornerstone role on the team, and that’s in exchange or playing on a much better roster. Plus Doc will be happy because while his job as head coach was never in question, losing Jordan might well have cost him his general manager’s role.
DCE: Along with signing the longest and most expensive contract in NRL history, this whole thing will see Cherry-Evans emerging from the smoke as the undisputed king of this team. What this means for under-fire head coach Geoff Toovey is still up in the air but the Sea Eagles have light at the end of the tunnel once more. They’ve lost their other half, Kieran Foran, to the Parramatta Eels (he the subject of massive backflip speculation too, only to follow through with his planned departure), yet they’ve also come out the other end of their salary cap wrangling with most things intact. Cherry-Evans is now under contract until the age of 34 and will almost certainly finish as a one-club player. That in itself has already endeared himself back to MWSE fans. With this all behind them, the club’s immediate form has improved a little and they’re expected to be back up near the top next season and for plenty more to come.
The Public Apology
DJ: A tricky but necessary one in a situation like this. A couple of days after the events that transpired, DeAndre Jordan put out these two tweets in apology:
Mark Cuban responded with this little riddle:
“When is an apology not an apology? When you didn’t write it yourself.”
So… not accepted then. Cuban and the Mavs are still yet to hear from DeAndre Jordan, though his mother has spoken to Cuban. Doc Rivers said, kinda legitimately, that the onus isn’t on the player but on his agent to make contact with the team in this situation. That’s true, except DeAndre iced out his agent too. That agent is known to be a buddy of Cuban’s and there are rumours that perhaps he led him towards signing with Dallas in the first place. A representative of the agency was there to oversee the new contract’s signing. We’re not likely to hear anything more from DeAndre until he returns from holiday in a week.
DCE: Daly did his apologising in his press conference. “This probably doesn’t look very honourable, the actions I’ve taken over the last 48 hours, and I understand that, but there’s only one thing that could’ve changed the honour of my word and that’s how important my family is to me.” Play the family card, nice one. He specifically apologised to the Titans and their fans, though that was scant consolation. It’s also worth noting that before the presser, he personally called up Titans coach Neil Henry to inform him what he was doing, which is a nice touch.
It cannot be stressed enough that both of these men were well within their rights to go back on their initial deals. Neither broke any rules. However it’s no exaggeration to say that they could have each been handled better.
Both received criticism that maybe if they weren’t prepared to see their deals into reality then they shouldn’t have been so hasty to sign them. It’s a question that was posed directly to Cherry-Evans and he refuted it, saying he’d made a very considered and agonised decision on each count. At least with him he can say that he had plenty of time for things to change. Jordan lasted only a few days as a promised Maverick before he backed out, though his contact was far less binding – effectively only a gentleman’s agreement.
Given the larger precedent in the NRL, Cherry-Evans was submitted to more outside pressure and given more of a chance to walk away. It’s not even up for debate that each of them have ended up on a better team with more money, so on those counts it’s a no-brainer how things turned out. Plus while each ended up back where they started, they now have far more security and influence than before. Each club probably took them for granted at the onset of negotiations and in convincing them to come back they must also have convinced them how essential they truly believe them to be. Were they sugar-coating to avoid losing a key player? Not in Manly’s case, they really do need DCE. For the Clippers, they need DJ too, but it’s easy to believe that there were some exaggerations. It’s not like he has the keys to the team like Cherry-Evans does.
DCE has the advantage of having infuriated a fan base that is honour-bound (maybe honour is the wrong word?) to support him up to three times a year for the Queensland State of Origin team as well as whenever he plays for Australia. For DJ, he will permanently be held as an agent of devilry in the eyes of Mavericks fans. There’s no chance of ever escaping that. Cherry-Evans, well he’ll still get booed whenever he plays the Titans, maybe a few late shots too. You don’t really have a choice but to cop that on the chin (literally) after this debacle.
Let’s face it, fans love to have enemies almost as much as they love their own side. Hence rivalries, hence derbies. Heck, the Brisbane Broncos fans even booed him after his decision, based entirely on the fact that he turned down a Queensland club for a New South Welsh one (okay, the manner of the rejection had a little to do with it too). DeAndre Jordan, meanwhile, is gonna have to get used to shooting free throws (which he’s notoriously awful at) whenever he plays in Dallas from now on.
It’s actually crazy how much in common these two chronicles have, but there are a few differences. Jordan stayed completely silent during the whole thing. Cherry-Evans tried to ease the mounting pressure during the early stages by publically restating his loyalty to the Titans. Except that even though he still meant it at that stage, it did nothing to stem those rising tides of speculation.
While both turned down roles as the faces of their new franchises, Cherry-Evans will still get that chance at Manly. It kinda comes with the territory of being the highest paid player in the game. However Jordan’s going back to being the third wheel of a Big Three in Los Angeles. Given the player turnover at Manly over the last two years, it’s fair to say that DeAndre Jordan walks into the more ready-made title challenge though he also walked away from what would have been a more immediately competitive team. Neither of the Titans or Mavs fare well in the outcome but at least the Mavs have scrambled to a Plan Z and picked up Deron Williams. So far the Titans have signed Dave Shillington and… not much else.
One lovely little heart-warmer is the fact that DeAndre has been reunited with his buddy-buddy-pal Blake Griffin, and Daly with his buddy-buddy-pal Nate Myles. Daly’s taken more heat in the media (relatively speaking) but he’s also gotten more defenders. That’s the nature of Aussie media – if someone had called DeAndre Jordan a filthy cockroach then the lawyers would be out in force, as is the natural American’s defence mechanism. DeAndre’s got his haters though, not having the guts to tell the Mavericks his decision at all has not reflected well on him. Both are dealing with the consequences, DCE will be out the other side far quicker.
10 Lessons For The Prospective Backflipper
- Absence makes the heart grow fonder and rejection makes the heart grow greedy. They’ll never want you more than the moment after you tell them you’re leaving.
- Keep your sources close. Misinformation can be both a blessing and a curse.
- Face the public. Own up to the disasters and play off a few kernels of sympathy.
- Loud declarations of loyalty tend to help plaster over everything that preceded.
- Try not to let your suitors find out that you’ve ruined their hopes and dreams through a series of ‘SOURCES INDICATE: Blah blah blah’ tweets from journalists. Let them know personally.
- Make sure your agent has your best interests at heart. Make sure you actually know what those best interests are.
- Waiting until the last minute to change your mind is pretty mean. Systems that try to encourage that are even meaner.
- Let the drama simmer for a little while though. Everybody loves a good hostage situation.
- Wild media speculation > half-hearted attempts to settle down wild media speculation.
- Bridges will be burned and the devastation will linger on for years to come. Be prepared for the backlash.