As ESPN's Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne reported on Wednesday, the question of where DeAndre Jordan will play basketball next season was still very much unanswered until the 11th hour.
Last week, it was reported Jordan had agreed to a max contract with the Mavericks, before having a change of heart and calling Clippers coach and general manager Doc Rivers. That phone call led to Los Angeles reportedly sending a team contingent to Jordan's hometown of Houston on Wednesday to persuade the center to return to Southern California.
Not to be outdone, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban rallied his own coterie, including known recruiter Chandler Parsons, to make sure Jordan's didn't renege on his verbal agreement with Dallas.
The league's moratorium on official deals ends on Thursday, as July 9 is the earliest date players and teams can officially sign contracts.
On Wednesday afternoon, with both teams en route to meet with Jordan, Parsons sent this tweet, ostensibly confirming his mission to secure Jordan's commitment to play in his home state:
✈️
— Chandler Parsons (@ChandlerParsons) July 8, 2015
In response, Clippers guard J.J. Redick -- included in Rivers' Houston squad -- tweeted this:
🚙
— JJ Redick (@JJRedick) July 8, 2015
Then, of course, Blake Griffin had to chime in. The Clippers star was apparently on vacation in Hawaii, according to an Instagram he posted Wednesday morning, but he may or may not be putting the sunshine on hold. Stein and Shelburne reported that Griffin met with Jordan on Tuesday night.
✈️🚁🚙
— Blake Griffin (@blakegriffin32) July 8, 2015
And then it just got silly. Chris Paul, who was last seen vacationing with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony, during which they apparently rode a banana boat, joined the fray.
🍌🚤
— Chris Paul (@CP3) July 8, 2015
Jordan eventually elected to play in Los Angeles, which is good because we were running out of transportation emojis.
