DeAndre Jordan is in the third year of his current contract with the LA Clippers, with a player-option for the 2018-2019 season that he will likely not opt into.
Brad Turner of the LA Times reports that Jordan and the Clippers have indeed discussed a contract extension but that the two sides will continue talking as no deal is in place.
DeAndre Jordan and Clippers have had conversations about a contract extension, but no deal is in place. The two sides will keep talking.
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) September 29, 2017
The Clippers may be hesitant to grant Jordan another huge payday before seeing what the center can do on offense without Chris Paul in LA. However, Turner added that the team has said they want to bring Jordan back and that Jordan has said he wants to stay with the Clips.
Jordan wants to return, he said, and the Clippers want him back, they have said.
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) September 29, 2017
Another factor that may delay the two sides from agreeing on an extension is the fact that Jordan is currently without an agent and is negotiating on his own for the time being.
Jordan doesn't have an agent, so he is negotiating on his own for the time being.
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) September 29, 2017
The center has had issues with agents in the past and would be with his fourth agency if he ends up finding and signing with a new agent.
Jordan’s last free agency period drew tons of media attention when the center decided he was going to move on from the Clippers and sign with his friend Chandler Parsons in Dallas. Every Clippers fan remembers the anguish we went through when he verbally agreed to sign with the Mavericks and then the shock and amazement when he about-faced and came back to LA.
His spurning of the Mavericks and Mark Cuban caught him a lot of bad press and negative attention from fans and critics, so it would make sense that Jordan is looking to extend and stay with the Clippers instead of going through the free agency process all over again.
The question that remains is how much money Jordan is going to be expecting from the Clippers this time. When he re-signed in 2015, LA awarded him a hefty four-year, $87.6 million contract which was the maximum amount the center could earn at the time. Last season, Jordan was tied with Brook Lopez as the sixth highest paid center in the league behind Al Horford, Hassan Whiteside, Andre Drummond, Dwight Howard, and Marc Gasol.
If Jordan struggles to adapt to the new style of the Clippers without Chris Paul, the team may not want to throw a ton of cash his way. But if Jordan flourishes with the new team, which he should (more coming on that this weekend) then the center could be on his way to becoming a Clipper for the rest of his prime.