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According to a recent report made by Broderick Turner of the LA Times, Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan plans to meet with just four teams when he hits unrestricted free agency on July 1: the Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks and Milwaukee Bucks.
Despite there being no clear indication the Celtics planned to pursue Jordan this summer, this is unfortunate news for Boston. After selecting three guards and a somewhat undersized power forward in Thursday night's NBA draft, Danny Ainge is still short a legitimate rim protector, something Jordan could obviously provide.
Having led the league in field-goal percentage over the last three years as well as rebounds per game the last two, many, including Clippers coach Doc Rivers, believe Jordan is likely to command a max contract.
Will the Clippers offer DeAndre Jordan a max contract? Doc: "Yeah, I think I can say that."
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) May 18, 2015
Jordan's max would pay him over $19 million in year one, a number the Celtics could take on if they were to renounce their free agent rights to Brandon Bass, Jonas Jerebko and Luigi Datome.
Signing Jordan would put Boston at about $62 million in committed salary for the 2015-16 season (salary cap is projected to be $64 million) and that's without including potential salaries for Jae Crowder and the any of the four rookies. However, it's unlikely that the Celtics would end up dipping into the projected $77 million luxury tax when all is said and done.
At 26 years old, Jordan is still young enough to fit in with the Celtics' long-term plans. But at this point it seems as though acquiring the athletic big man is nothing but a pipe dream.