"Clippers' Jordan center of attention"

[mkwest]

Taking the new CBA and work-stoppage threat out of the equation, one prominent NBA agent pegged Jordan's value on the open market to be around $9 million to $11 million dollars a season and predicted he'd sign a contract similar to the five-year, $60 million extension that Bulls center Joakim Noah signed in 2010 or even the four-year, $58 million extension Lakers center Andrew Bynum signed in 2009.

Teammate Chris Kaman just came right out and said it:

"I think he's going to do pretty well this summer when the free-agent market comes up," Kaman said. "I can see a lot of teams wanting to give him some money and trying to use him as a force for them defensively."

"I can assure you that keeping DJ as part of our core is a major priority and one we will address at the first opportunity," Clippers general manager Neil Olshey said. "Having two starting-caliber centers [Jordan and Kaman] is an incredible luxury and one that we don't take for granted."

Ramona Shelburne, ESPN Los Angeles

[supfoo]

11 million a year might be a little on the high side considering his lack of production compared to bynum/noah. a 5-year mle deal is about a 7 million average and that's probably the absolute minimum for dj. with all things considered, i believe he's going to be the most sought out big men this off-season. his value is similiar to samuel dalmbert's value 4-5 years ago when he first blew up so it's reasonable to assume that jordan will get a similiar contract (about 45 - 50 million over 5 years). the chance of a hometown discount is always in the picture but in reality, that has less to do with jordan's sense of loyalty, and more to do how the cba negotiations go and how much he can command in the open market.

he's not a top flight center but he's not jerome james either. i think keeping him is a no brainer.

[donemilio21]

ouch!

Sterling will never pay that money.

[thanumba2clippersfan]

Jordan isn't worth $10 million a year, but I can't blame him for wanting to get as much money as he can. I would love to keep DJ, and if we do wind up paying him what he wants then Kaman will have to go. I don't think we should pay two centers around $10 million a year. However I would be more comfortable if DJ asked for $6 or $7 million a year.

[clippermitch]

$10 million? We might as well say goodbye to DJ now. He's not worth $10 million and DTS will never pay it. I can count the # of clippers that made that kind of money in one hand with a few fingers to spare.

For $10m, I'd rather sign Tyson Chandler.

[mkwest]

I was surprised when I saw the potential $10M price tag in the article. I love DJ and all, but he's not worth that right now and may very well never be. If anybody signs him for that amount, they'll probably end up regretting it sooner than later. I do feel that he's going to get well above the MLE as nearly every team in the league can offer him that. 5/35 would be great, but the premium for bigs will give him 40-45M easy imo. I'd be content with those amounts. Playing here with Blake is the best environment for him outside of home. It's no mistake that him hanging out with Blake has elevated his game. You can look at the difference between and when he was the BFF to Mike Taylor. Night and Day.

Tyson Chandler would be nice if he were to remain healthy. I've heard a lot of bad things concerning his foot that could limit his future production. I hope that information is wrong and he's able to stay on the court, but it's something to be cautious about from any team that is looking at him.

[supfoo]

i don't think 10 million a year is that crazy. at least it isn't for an athletic and relatively injury free 22 year old center with ideal size/length. it might represent the maximum he can extract from some team this off season but it's certainly not out of the question when you take a look at all the contracts that similiar players have signed in the past. players like amir johnson and jerome james got 7 million a year easily via the mle and they were both much less promising than jordan is now. nene @ 22 years of age signed a 60 million/6 years deal and that was after a major injury which caused him an entire season and before he turned into one of the premiere defensive players in the league. i don't remember the specifics of dalembert's contract but he got deal similiar to nene's at around the same age. as far as the clippers spending money goes, hell even olowokandi got a 9 million a year contract offer years back which he thankfully turned down. like everyone else, i'm hoping jordan gets matched for an mle deal but it's looking less and less likely, especially since the 2011 free agent pool leaves much to be desired.

[mkwest]

i don't think 10 million a year is that crazy. at least it isn't for an athletic and relatively injury free 22 year old center with ideal size/length. it might represent the maximum he can extract from some team this off season but it's certainly not out of the question when you take a look at all the contracts that similiar players have signed in the past. players like amir johnson and jerome james got 7 million a year easily via the mle and they were both much less promising than jordan is now. nene @ 22 years of age signed a 60 million/6 years deal and that was after a major injury which caused him an entire season and before he turned into one of the premiere defensive players in the league. i don't remember the specifics of dalembert's contract but he got deal similiar to nene's at around the same age. as far as the clippers spending money goes, hell even olowokandi got a 9 million a year contract offer years back which he thankfully turned down. like everyone else, i'm hoping jordan gets matched for an mle deal but it's looking less and less likely, especially since the 2011 free agent pool leaves much to be desired.

I just don't think he is worth it right now, just as most of the bigs that get the 60M contracts aren't. A big with potential is always going to get a nice pay day. I want to see us re-sign him or match any offer sheet that he may sign, but 60M is lot and that makes me a bit nervous moving forward. Anybody that is willing to take him at $10-11M per year is taking a huge risk.

Right now, it's really hard to attach a figure or range to DJ due to the uncertainty of the new CBA. Salaries could be scaled down, years could be reduced and the MLE could be eliminated (although, I kind of doubt it). Our bird rights will cover us for the important pieces now and in the future, but I'd also like to see us also have the flexibility to improve both now and later. Sterling has shown a willingness to pay players big money, but it remains to be seen if he'll drift into the luxury tax if necessary. We all have hopes of some sort to keep BG, EJ & DJ long term, while adding a legit starter quality SF an potentially another big piece if the SF isn't that piece.

3 years from now, it's going to add up financially and I only hope that Sterling will actually do the right thing and put the money where his mouth is. He finally came into a young superstar that is worth paying and building around. If he does spend the money to make this a contending team, then he's going to make that money back and then some. We're already one of the highest draws on the road in the league and have sold out the majority of home games. Winning is going to put butts in seats. The opportunity to be the best team in this city and have the best player in this city within the next few seasons could very well be our reality. This is the moment of truth (this summer and next) and it will ultimately define where we're headed for the next decade.

[DangerCurtis]

My concern now is that, since speculation seems to be that Jordan can get about 10M a year from a team, what happens if we let him walk? Considering all things, Kaman will be in his final year of his contract, and while this is just speculation, it's hard for me to think that Kaman will want to come back to the Clippers.

If Sterling doesn't match an offer for DJ and the probability to see Kaman bolt for another team, then we will be left with no Center. Honestly, since DJ is a restricted agent, give him the money that any other team offers him, and try to work a deal that lands us a SF for Kaman.

[mkwest]

My concern now is that, since speculation seems to be that Jordan can get about 10M a year from a team, what happens if we let him walk? Considering all things, Kaman will be in his final year of his contract, and while this is just speculation, it's hard for me to think that Kaman will want to come back to the Clippers.

If Sterling doesn't match an offer for DJ and the probability to see Kaman bolt for another team, then we will be left with no Center. Honestly, since DJ is a restricted agent, give him the money that any other team offers him, and try to work a deal that lands us a SF for Kaman.

Good point. In another article that I posted a day or so ago, it looks like Kaman is not in the picture for this team's future. Olshey alluded to Kaman being trade bait, and different writers that are close to organization have stated the same sentiment for much of this season. Ultimately, I do believe that we'll re-sign DJ. I just hope that this agent's numbers are slightly off. Kaman as an expiring contract is trade bait to just about anybody. Contenders could be interested in having a talented 7 footer for their championship pushes and other teams that may be looking to shed long-term salary could be looking at him as well. I really like the idea or packaging a couple of expirings (i.e. Kaman, Foye & Cook) sometime between the offseason and the trading deadline to bring in that much needed 3rd piece. We have the assets to make a power move, but we'll have to be proactive.

[Det the Threat]

My concern now is that, since speculation seems to be that Jordan can get about 10M a year from a team, what happens if we let him walk? Considering all things, Kaman will be in his final year of his contract, and while this is just speculation, it's hard for me to think that Kaman will want to come back to the Clippers.

If Sterling doesn't match an offer for DJ and the probability to see Kaman bolt for another team, then we will be left with no Center. Honestly, since DJ is a restricted agent, give him the money that any other team offers him, and try to work a deal that lands us a SF for Kaman.

I doubt we'll just give him anything he wants.

It will take some time for the new CBA to be hammered out and even then it would be bad business to just pay him what he's asking for, if it's something around those mentioned $10 mil(or that kind of value under the new CBA, whatever kind of amount of $ that would be) a year.

The best thing to do, business wise(if we're not able to sign him for something reasonable before), would be to let him get out on the market, get himself a contract that he signs and just match it.

That way we wouldn't be bidding against ourselves and DJ would receive the kind of contract he'd like while still playing with Blake and EJ.

Of course, if we do re-sing DJ then Kaman becomes a huge trading chip in trying to land an upgrade at small forward.

BTW: One thing I don't get is why we're waiting for him becoming a restricted free agent.
We've got quite some room left under the CBA and could try to re-sign him while using that current cap space to get him some of his money right now, just like OKC did with Nick Collison.
That would give DJ some money before that possible lockout, while enabling us to keep the $ during that extansion a bit lower and having more financial flexibility.

Or does him being a RFA mean that we couldn't do such an extansion?

[mkwest]

Det, contracts for fewer than 4 seasons cannot be extended. Contracts of 4 or more seasons can be extended after the 3rd season (on or after the 3rd anniversary of the contract being signed).

I personally think that DJ will be fine in terms of money. Just as the top picks can be advanced salary even in the event of a lockout, I'm confident that a player like DJ who is looking at a big pay raise, will be taken care of by his agent.

[madmaxmedia]

Honestly, since DJ is a restricted agent, give him the money that any other team offers him, and try to work a deal that lands us a SF for Kaman.

This. He is a restricted FA which makes it easier for our front office. There's no negotiating really to be done (really the smart thing for DJ to do is test the market and see what offers come in), at one point he's sign an offer sheet and then we have the choice of matching or not.

$10M is too high, but he can get an offer sheet above MLE for sure. DJ had a breakout year of sorts, but his offensive ceiling will always be low. An athletic team with already a couple of big scoring options could use him, but such a team probably doesn't have $10M to spend for a defensive center.

Kendrick Perkins just got a 4 year $35M extension- I think that's a benchmark of sorts for DJ.

This is all of course assuming a new CBA similar to the current one. The final numbers may change, but his relative worth compared to other players won't.

[Leor_77]

Yeah, DJ will no doubt get a lot of money, and I have my doubts that we can afford to keep him. Just imagine, teams like New York and Miami - The main piece that they need is huge center that plays defense, blocks shots and gets rebounds. Acquiring DJ could very well take them to the next level. Obviously, with Perkins getting nearly 9 million per year, it's safe to say that DJ would get something similar.

While I don't want to pay him that much, I hope the organization at least is willing to go a little over whatever they are willing to pay him now. Let's not forget that the Clippers have the 2nd lowest payroll in the NBA, after we have made obvious and blatant moves to reduce cap size. I would hope that counts for something.

[DangerCurtis]

I just don't think right now is the time to be frugal with DJ. Sure we all love the luxury of having a center who can score the ball in Kaman, but if we're being honest with ourselves, I think the majority of us would prefer to see DJ out there with Blake.

Similarly, if OKC's signing of Perkins 4 yr/35mil is any indication of something, having a defensive anchor in a center is detrimental to a team. And the best part, DJ is only 22 years old.

As Det said, let him get out in the market, let him see what he can get in free agency and match it. Just hope NY does't throw a 10mil+ contract at him.

[mkwest]

Let's assume the salary cap is equivalent to the 2010-11 Salary Cap (58M)

Teams that can possibly offer above the MLE

Charlotte (6-7M) - Kwame Brown

Denver - Nene?, Chris Andersen, Timofey Mozgov, Kosta Koufas

Detroit - Greg Monroe, Ben Wallace

Golden State - Andris Biedrins, Ekpe Udoh

Houston - Yao?, Chuck Hayes?, Hasheem Thabeet, Brad Miller, Jordan Hill

Indiana - Roy Hibbert, Jeff Foster?

Milwaukee - Andrew Bogut, Jon Brockman, Larry Sanders

Minnesota - Darko Milicic, Nikola Pekovic, Anthony Tolliver, Anthony Randolph

New Jersey - Brook Lopez, Johan Petro,

OKC - Kendrick Perkins, Serge Ibaka, Cole Aldrich, BJ Mullens, Nazr Mohammed?

Sacramento? - Samuel Dalembert?, DeMarcus Cousins, Hassan Whiteside, Jason Thompson

Toronto - Andrea Bargnani, Amir Johnson, Joey Dorsey?, Reggie Evans

Washington (If they don't re-sign Young, Howard or Yi) - Javale McGee, Kevin Seraphin


There are multiple factors at play such as resigning their own free-agents and draft pick cap holds that may change their salary outlook.

[Det the Threat]

Det, contracts for fewer than 4 seasons cannot be extended. Contracts of 4 or more seasons can be extended after the 3rd season (on or after the 3rd anniversary of the contract being signed).

I personally think that DJ will be fine in terms of money. Just as the top picks can be advanced salary even in the event of a lockout, I'm confident that a player like DJ who is looking at a big pay raise, will be taken care of by his agent.

Thanks for the clearification mk.

And of course DJ will receive a nice new contract, given his age, potential and the way he's played this season.

$10M is too high, but he can get an offer sheet above MLE for sure. DJ had a breakout year of sorts, but his offensive ceiling will always be low. An athletic team with already a couple of big scoring options could use him, but such a team probably doesn't have $10M to spend for a defensive center.

Kendrick Perkins just got a 4 year $35M extension- I think that's a benchmark of sorts for DJ.

This is all of course assuming a new CBA similar to the current one. The final numbers may change, but his relative worth compared to other players won't.

Good call, even though I think Perkins having won in Boston and shown that he's able to fill that role full time should mean that DJ's just a slight notch below him and hopefully not as expensive to re-sign.

Yeah, DJ will no doubt get a lot of money, and I have my doubts that we can afford to keep him. Just imagine, teams like New York and Miami - The main piece that they need is huge center that plays defense, blocks shots and gets rebounds. Acquiring DJ could very well take them to the next level. Obviously, with Perkins getting nearly 9 million per year, it's safe to say that DJ would get something similar.

While I don't want to pay him that much, I hope the organization at least is willing to go a little over whatever they are willing to pay him now. Let's not forget that the Clippers have the 2nd lowest payroll in the NBA, after we have made obvious and blatant moves to reduce cap size. I would hope that counts for something.

The Heat aren't going to be players, as long as they can't negotiate a sign and trade deal with us, which is very unlikely to happen.

The Knicks might be able to do so, but are they really going to spend the rest of their cap space on DJ?
Especially with other guys(Howard, Deron Williams, Chris Paul etc.) certainly interested in joining Amare and Melo.

To me teams like Charlotte, Toronto, Detroit, Houston(depending on Yao), Minnesota or Sacramento(depending on Dalembert) are the most likely ones to make a run at DJ.

So we'll see what happens, but like I've said before, him being a RFA gives us all the leverage and I would just let him sign an offer sheet someplace and match it. That way we won't be bidding against ourselves.

[PG3]

DJ's value is also because of the lack of natural centers in the league. He's also the perfect complimentary guy who doesnt demand the ball. Miami and New York would love to have a starting center like him. I also dont think he's worth 10-11 mil because he hasnt show consistency in his game yet. I think a 5 year/45 mil deal would be fair.

[mkwest]

In Jordan's favor: The draft is thin at center, and there are only a handful available via free agency. What could work against Jordan is if the current mid-level exception shrinks or goes away in a new CBA, cutting into his list of potential suitors.

Jordan's emergence does not mean center Chris Kaman, an All-Star last season, has played his last game as a Clipper. The Clippers aren't looking to shop Kaman, at least not any time soon, according to those familiar with their thinking.

Lisa Dillman, LA Times

[virtuousoutlaw]

Let's assume the salary cap is equivalent to the 2010-11 Salary Cap (58M)

Teams that can possibly offer above the MLE

Charlotte (6-7M) - Kwame Brown

Denver - Nene?, Chris Andersen, Timofey Mozgov, Kosta Koufas

Detroit - Greg Monroe, Ben Wallace

Golden State - Andris Biedrins, Ekpe Udoh

Houston - Yao?, Chuck Hayes?, Hasheem Thabeet, Brad Miller, Jordan Hill

Indiana - Roy Hibbert, Jeff Foster?

Milwaukee - Andrew Bogut, Jon Brockman, Larry Sanders

Minnesota - Darko Milicic, Nikola Pekovic, Anthony Tolliver, Anthony Randolph

New Jersey - Brook Lopez, Johan Petro,

OKC - Kendrick Perkins, Serge Ibaka, Cole Aldrich, BJ Mullens, Nazr Mohammed?

Sacramento? - Samuel Dalembert?, DeMarcus Cousins, Hassan Whiteside, Jason Thompson

Toronto - Andrea Bargnani, Amir Johnson, Joey Dorsey?, Reggie Evans

Washington (If they don't re-sign Young, Howard or Yi) - Javale McGee, Kevin Seraphin


There are multiple factors at play such as resigning their own free-agents and draft pick cap holds that may change their salary outlook.

Coming from a Warriors fan, having Biedrins and Udoh won't stop the Warriors from going after DJ. His agent was just recently hired to be the assistant GM of the Warriors. If the Warriors have the cap space and they should as they have quite a few expiring contracts, I believe they will go after DJ.