Report: Clippers’ Refusal to Take Iman Shumpert Held Up DeAndre Jordan Trade to Cavs

The Cavaliers were tantalizingly close to acquiring DeAndre Jordan at the deadline.

The Cavaliers were tantalizingly close to acquiring DeAndre Jordan from the Clippers at the trade deadline, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports, but the deal hit a hiccup over Iman Shumpert. 

The Cavs hand long been rumored to be targeting Jordan, who is expected to become a free agent at the end of the season. The Clippers were also widely expected to trade him before the deadline and had reportedly talked to the Wizards and Rockets, among others. They also had the framework of a deal to send Jordan to Cleveland. It would have been Jae Crowder, Channing Frye, Iman Shumpert and Cleveland’s 2018 first-rounder, Wojnarowski reports. 

But there was a catch. Wojnarowski explains:

Clippers general manager Michael Winger explained to [Cavs GM Kobe] Altman that LA didn't want another shooting guard. He hoped to find a third team that would take Shumpert and his $21 million with draft compensation, and have the Clippers get a center back. Altman and Winger agreed to make more calls to try to find a third team to make the deal work. Winger wondered whether Altman would let him talk to Shumpert's agent about a possible contract buyout, but Altman wanted trade talks to be further along before granting that permission.

Clippers president Lawrence Frank, Winger and Altman had talked for weeks on a trade, but they got nowhere. The Clippers wouldn't take Tristan Thompson, JR Smith or Shumpert in a deal, and that never changed.

The Cavs did end up finding a suitor for Shumpert in the Kings. Sacramento got him in the three-team deal with the Jazz that sent George Hill and Rodney Hood to Cleveland. Jordan, meanwhile, stayed put in Los Angeles.