Despite DeAndre Jordan backing out of a deal to join the Dallas Mavericks in 2015, the team had no problems pursuing him again in free agency this summer.The Mavs were humiliated by the 29-year-old in 2015 when he verbally agreed a deal but famously reneged on it a couple of days later to re-sign with the Los Angeles Clippers after his teammates convinced him to change his mind.Owner Mark Cuban was left furious by the debacle but he said it didn't take him long to let bygones be bygones and look to sign the big man again. 

Burying the hatchet

"There's like four guys I hold grudges with, and three of them are from grade school, maybe even before," Cuban told ESPN.

"I just want to win. Look, only Dirk [Nowitzki] and J.J. [Barea] were there from that period anyway. All of our guys were like, 'Go get him! Go get him!'

"I talked to him on the phone, and he's like, 'Everything behind us?' I'm like, 'Let's go win.' He goes, 'Let's go to war.' Done."

On Friday, the center officially signed a one-year, $23 million contract with the Mavericks. 

Cuban stated that the short-term deal was the best scenario for both parties as they want to test how he fits on the team before committing to each other for multiple years. 

"It was really just making us both comfortable. There's no question about his skill set," Cuban said.

"There's no question about his abilities. There's no question about any of it. It's just that he wanted to check us out too, and I think he was just done with where he was."

Going big

The franchise made it a priority to bring in a quality center this offseason and had also targeted DeMarcus Cousins. 

But his recovery from a torn Achilles, which could take another six months, ultimately put the team off from discussing a deal. 

Cuban is keen to win immediately and believes Jordan gives them the best chance to do that. 

"We talked to Boogie's folks, and because of his injury, it would have been difficult for us to make the improvements," he said. 

"But I wanted to win now, and that's what I told his guys. We thought DeAndre gave us the best chance to win now. And not just now, but going forward."

Dallas is coming off a horrible losing season where they ended with a 24-58 record but their owner now believes they have enough to compete for a playoff spot once again. 

"[Jordan] makes us much better," Cuban said. "I think he'll be more engaged this year. It's a contract year obviously.

"Not everybody was all excited last year where he was. The West is a beast, but I think we can compete for that playoff spot and see where it goes from there."

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