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Chandler Parsons doesn’t hold back in interview about DeAndre Jordan

Lakers guard Nick Young tries to prevent Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons from scoring during a game on Nov. 21, 2014, in Dallas.

Lakers guard Nick Young tries to prevent Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons from scoring during a game on Nov. 21, 2014, in Dallas.

(Tony Gutierrez / Associated Press)
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Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons spoke to ESPN.com on Thursday about the betrayal he felt when free-agent center DeAndre Jordan backed out of his commitment to Dallas and signed with the Clippers late Wednesday night in Houston.

Parsons, who was one of the main members of the Mavericks who recruited Jordan, said in the interview that “when a man gives you his word and an organization his word, especially when that organization put in so much effort and I walked him through this process and was very, very open and willing to work with him, it’s just very unethical and disrespectful.”

Parsons said he was in touch with Jordan every step of the process and continued to recruit the 6-foot-11 center after he started to have doubts about his decision to leave the Clippers.

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“I’m shocked, very disappointed, frustrated, disrespected,” Parsons said. “This is something that I’ve never seen in my career, and I know that it doesn’t happen very often.”

Parsons said he knew there were risks in recruiting Jordan, who is an excellent defender with limited offensive abilities, but felt it was worth the gamble.

“It’s a lot of pressure,” he said of Jordan stepping into a leadership role. “Maybe he got nerves about being a franchise player and having the pressure of leading a team. He’s very comfortable in L.A. He can play behind Chris Paul, play behind Blake Griffin. That’s what I thought he didn’t want. Throughout the process, that’s what he told me he didn’t want. He wanted to take the next step in his career. He wanted to be the man on his team and build something special.

“He put our entire franchise and our team in a really, really tough spot. We put all our eggs in the DeAndre Jordan basket and we had a commit from him. We had a man’s word that he was going to come here. Then we signed Wes Matthews and we had myself, we had three key building blocks for the future that are young going forward.”

Here’s a link to the entire interview.

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