Why Is Everyone Mad About DeAndre Jordan's New Deal With New Orleans Pelicans?

A baffling guarantee structure and missed cap reimbursements have fans questioning the front office's fiscal strategy, despite the beloved veteran’s locker room value and leadership skills.

The New Orleans Pelicans' mostly innocuous signing of DeAndre Jordan has been the subject of a lot of strife, with it being the only deal they have made, but now there is a new reason that everyone is mad about his new contract. NBA insider Jake Fischer released an update on Sunday, sharing that Jordan's new deal is fully guaranteed for two years, $7.9 million. This has caused a bit of a ruckus within the fanbase on social media, with people once again confused by the process that led the front office to make this choice.

It's important to note that this is still league minimum for Jordan, so he's not getting extra money, but it will cost the Pelicans more. If they wanted him for two more seasons, they could have simply done two one year deals and had about $3 million of it reimbursed by the league. This was added to the CBA to entice teams to sign veteran players.

New Orleans, because they needed no incentive to sign Jordan, could have looked past this and just given him the two years. A two-year deal with a player option in the second season would have done the same thing and gotten the reimbursement. No negative reaction to this deal has anything to do with Jordan.

He is both a fan-favorite and beloved around the locker room. The need to give someone entering his 19th NBA season, who played 12 games last year, two fully guaranteed seasons is a bit questionable, but he's deserved it. Jordan was a fantastic leader last season and has meant great things for Derik Queen's development.

He was always ready to compete when asked last season and will be able to provide a solid presence off the bench. Veterans are always important for young teams and Jordan is a great one. The frustration is that there are other ways that this front office could have accomplished this deal while saving a little bit of money.

It's small in the grand scheme of things, but these things add up. It's similar to the fact that the Queen trade didn't end up biting them, but not protecting the pick made no sense in the first place. Winning will cure all things in New Orleans, but it's understandable that the fanbase might be frustrated after how the last few years have gone.

Everything will be under a microscope until things turn around.