Leaving aside the fairly ridiculous nature of the NBA‘s week-long moratorium against making free agent deals official, DeAndre Jordan had every right to back out of his verbal agreement with the Dallas Mavericks and re-sign with the Los Angeles Clippers. The financial difference is not significant in the grand scheme of things, with the reported agreement with Dallas being four years for $80-plus million and Ken Berger of CBS Sports.com reporting that Jordan’s deal with the Clippers will be four years for $87.7 million (player option after the third year), but returning to Los Angeles speaks to Jordan’s mindset in a way that does not make him look very good.

From an apparent desire for a bigger role to a reported rift with point guard Chris Paul that goes back a few years, going back to Los Angeles did not look like a priority for Jordan a week ago. Dallas was willing to pay him close to what the Clippers could, while giving him the role he was seemingly seeking and making him a centerpiece of the future as the franchise makes a plan beyond the end of Dirk Nowitzki’s career.

The Clippers’ contingent made a lame move by effectively locking Jordan into his Houston home Wednesday night, for fear that a meeting or a call with anyone from the Mavericks would sway him again. Paul may have been persuasive in putting any past issues to bed, and any desire for a more prominent role was conveniently forgotten, but Jordan clearly is not ready to be a franchise player and Mavericks’ forward Chandler Parsons echoed that thought on Thursday.

Many NBA players have had success taking a backseat to strong-willed stars as teams make deep playoff runs and win titles, perhaps by necessity above all else, and Jordan may join them very soon if the Clippers can put it together and reach their potential. But with a glimpse into his overall makeup now, and an apparent lack of willingness to embrace a high level of pressure as a team’s biggest star, Jordan will never get all the credit he deserves as he remains a clear secondary player during the prime of his career.

Brad Berreman is a Senior Writer at Rant Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter.