

Kevin Seraphin could find a home in Dallas. (Shwan Thew/EPA/Corbis)

Now that the NBA’s first emoji conflict is in the books and DeAndre Jordan is staying with the Los Angeles Clippers after taking Twitter hostage, it’s time to address the ripple affect Jordan’s decision to spurn the Dallas Mavericks has on what is left of the free agent market. And it all begins with a (likely soon-to-be former) member of the Washington Wizards.

[Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says Jordan ‘never responded to me’ about decision]

Kevin Seraphin is perhaps the best unrestricted free agent center left and Jordan’s wavering created an opening. Seraphin has made it clear he wants more playing time in addition to a raise from the $3.89 million salary he collected last season, his fifth with the Wizards. But when Jordan first agreed to sign with the Mavericks, such options were nonexistent for Seraphin.

The Clippers likely would’ve welcomed Seraphin and there were reports that former Wizard Paul Pierce was ready to recruit him, but Los Angeles is over the salary cap and couldn’t offer him a raise. The Clippers would have needed to do some significant maneuvering to appease Seraphin’s salary demands.

But there is no such problem with the Mavericks now that they’ve been abandoned at the altar. Dallas lost last season’s starting center, Tyson Chandler, to the Phoenix Suns last week. Mark Cuban and Co. are in desperate need of a replacement and had reportedly made Seraphin part of their contingency plan once they realized Jordan was having second thoughts. They have about $18 million cap room and playing time to offer. Kevin Seraphin isn’t DeAndre Jordan but unless some more unexpected wavering happens, the Mavericks are stuck.

There’s a slim chance Seraphin, 25, could return to Washington. The team lacks young big men and could use another one after acquiring wing depth in Jared Dudley, Gary Neal and Alan Anderson. But the Wizards have conducted business this summer under the assumption that Seraphin would move on. They could keep their 15th roster spot vacant or re-sign Drew Gooden III instead. Seraphin is a potent low-post scorer, but Gooden can spread the floor as a three-point threat at a fraction of the cost.