Golden State Warriors to explore possibility of adding DeAndre Jordan

DeAndre Jordan opted out of his deal with the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday, becoming a free agent. The Golden State Warriors are expected to gauge his interest in signing with them.

Do the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors have a chance at signing high-level free agent big man, DeAndre Jordan?

Probably not, but that won’t stop their aggressive front office from doing their due diligence in free agency, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times via Twitter.

Per Stein’s report, the Dubs are certainly aware their chances of signing Jordan are slim compared to other teams in the league, but they will, at the very least, explore their options.

While Jordan’s 12.0 points and 15.2 rebounds would, on paper, be a good fit for the Warriors as an athletic centerpiece when the team opts not to start small, the most the team could offer him financially is the $5.3 million mid-level exception.

Of course, the Warriors are expected to venture DEEP into luxury tax territory, where they would end up being taxed for every dollar over the line. According to Stein, using the mid-level exception on any player at all would result in the Warriors paying over $20 million extra next season.

Nevertheless, finances have never been an issue since Joe Lacob and the current ownership group took the reins from Chris Cohan and company, so this report concerning Jordan comes to no surprise.

The Warriors are but a step away from cementing themselves as the top-tier NBA dynasty after winning three out of the last four NBA championships, most recently joining the short list of franchises to ever win back-to-back titles.

Now on the verge of a probable three-peat, the addition of DeAndre Jordan would put them over the top. If they weren’t the favorites for winning this upcoming season, signing Jordan would undoubtedly seal the deal.

In addition, there’s also the fact that GSW general manager Bob Myers was once Jordan’s agent, and one of Jordan’s closest friends in the league is Kevin Durant. The connections are clearly there.

Of course, there’s also the issue of where Golden State’s current frontcourt rotation fits into the equation, namely guys like Damian Jones and JaVale McGee. Jones will still likely make the step up to role player off the bench, but Golden State would unfortunately have to say goodbye to McGee.

If Jordan does end up decided to leave MILLIONS of dollars on the table in the quest for the ring, however, I think it’s safe to say we can finally forgive the front office for using the amnesty clause on Charlie Bell all those many years ago.

Next: Steve Kerr signs multi-year contract extension with Warriors

And as an added plus, how awesome would it be see one of Chris Paul‘s former teammates win a ring with Stephen Curry? Fingers crossed!