Dallas Mavericks

Chandler Parsons: DeAndre Jordan 'Wasn't ready to be a franchise player'

Published Jul. 10, 2015 3:27 p.m. ET

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Chandler Parsons spent time recruiting DeAndre Jordan to the Mavericks, but DJ ended up turning his back.

Now, Parsons is speaking out against Jordan, and he doesn't have the most complimentary of statements to say about his almost-teammate. From Tim MacMahon of ESPN:

Jordan agreed to sign with the Mavericks July 3, but pulled out before his agreement became official. He signed with the Clippers at 12:01 a.m. July 9, once players were legally allowed to sign with teams.

(H/t ESPN.)

Photo Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

That's a hard pill for Parsons to swallow days after celebrating the commitment of a fellow 26-year-old he believed would become a perennial All-Star and MVP candidate with a featured role in Dallas.

"He wasn't ready to be a franchise player. He was scared," Parsons said. "He was scared to take the next step in his career. There was no other reason other than that he was comfortable and he has friendships there. How you make a business decision like that is beyond me. How you ignore an owner like Mark who is in your hometown just waiting for a chance to talk to you is beyond me.

"I don't think he made a mistake. I think he'll be good in L.A. He's got a good team, he's got a great point guard, he's got Blake, but I think he could have been a superstar in Dallas. He could have been the man in Dallas. Never in a million years did I think that this was even a possibility.

"I'll still be friends with him, but I can't get over the way that he's put our entire franchise in jeopardy. It's normal to get cold feet. It's normal to get second thoughts, but you don't back out of a commitment of this much magnitude this late in the game and just leave us high and dry."