North: DeAndre Jordan's handshake means nothing
The saga of DeAndre Jordan is finished.
In case you don't know, Jordan verbally agreed last Friday to a four-year, $80 million deal with the Dallas Mavericks, but according to NBA free agency regulations he could not sign the deal until the following Thursday.
Then, at 12:01 ET on Thursday, Jordan re-signed with the Los Angeles Clippers for a four-year, $87 million deal after owner Steve Ballmer, coach Doc Rivers and several players came to his home and persuaded him to change his mind.
Once the NBA season starts, most of the flurry will have subsided, but on my Fox Sports Radio show with Andy Furman, former NFL player Kirk Morrison said Jordan is the loser in the situation because his handshake and word now mean nothing.
Many in the media will paint a different picture, especially in Los Angeles, but I was pleasantly surprised by our decidedly unscientific on-air poll with callers. Seven straight callers, including three from Los Angeles, considered Jordan's decision to be classless, a bad move or a decision that lacked character.
Like many people, I was taught by my father that a handshake is giving your word and shouldn't be broken. Sure Jordan has his money, but it's a stain on the power forward's reputation.
Kershaw or Cueto?
Baseball's Summer Classic, the All-Star Game, is upon us and I was humored by the numerous uninformed fans that Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw should be an all-star this year.
With an expanded roster, players, fans, onliners and even aliens can vote on their selections, but Kershaw wasn't selected and NL manager Bruce Bochy didn't pick him.
I agree with Bochy's move. Making the all-star team is about your performance in the first half of the season. It's not a popularity contest or based on the previous year's performance.
Kershaw is just 6-6 with a 2.85 ERA this season, and while those are decent numbers, he set a high standard for himself last year (21-3 with 1.77 ERA), and that guy hasn't emerged yet.
Although Kershaw recently went nine innings against the Philadelphia Phillies (29-58), Johnny Cueto (6-5 with 2.61 ERA), who pitches in a bandbox in Cincinnati with an arguably worse team, deserves to be on the roster before Jordan.
Bulls standing pat:
It doesn't look like the Chicago Bulls plan on any surprises in the player department. They have a nice nucleus coming back with Jimmy Butler, Derrick Rose, Taj Gibson, Joakim Noah, Pau Gasol and the rest.
I think they still need another shooter even though I'm a big Doug McDermott fan. I thought McDermott should have gotten more playing time last season, but Tom Thibodeau didn't. Still, maybe McDermott can be that missing shooter.
Program notes:
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• North's column appears each Tuesday and Friday in the Daily Herald, and his video commentary can be found Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at dailyherald.com. For more, visit northtonorth.com.