DALLAS – More than three years has passed since DeAndre Jordan gave the Dallas Mavericks the cold shoulders in the middle of the night.

While housed up in his Houston home with some of his Los Angeles Clippers teammates and Clippers management in 2015, Jordan reneged on a verbal commitment to sign a free agent contract with the Mavs and instead decided to remain in LA and re-sign with the Clippers.

That decision set the Mavs back. But that was then, and apparently all has been forgotten and everyone has kissed and made up. So much so that Jordan verbally agreed to sign a free agent contract with the Mavs earlier this summer, and this time he signed the contract.

In his first interview since joining the Mavs, Jordan said: “I obviously grew as a person mentally. I don’t think I would have changed what happened (in 2015). I think I would have changed the way that it was handled, because I don’t regret my decision staying with the Clippers.

“I think that was something that I ultimately wanted to do. It was a great three years there. We didn’t succeed the way we wanted to, obviously. Unfortunately, things came to an end.”

And to that end, Jordan has a new group of fans who will cheer him on. At least that’s the plan.

When asked Friday about what type of reception he thinks he’ll receive from Mavs fans who weren’t at all pleased that he jilted their favorite team three years ago, Jordan said: “I’m on the team, so I hope it will be positive. I think it will be positive. Obviously we all know what happened three years ago. It was a very tough decision for me and my family.

“Like I said before, I’m happy to be here now. I’m happy to finally be a Maverick with these guys. I’m excited to finally play in front of the fans. They’ve always had some of the best fans in the league every time I’ve been here. It’s really exciting for me.”

Jordan said he wishes he would have communicated better three years ago with proprietor Mark Cuban during free agency.

“And that’s something that Mark and I talked about,” Jordan said. “Like I said, everything’s positive now. It was just such a fast situation. Everything happened so fast.

“Unless you’re in that situation, you don’t know the ins, the outs, the emotions that come with it. Like I said, I’m happy to be here and I’m happy that whole thing’s over with.”

So too is Mavs coach Rick Carlisle, who never lost hope of one day having Jordan on his team. Carlisle expressed those emotions during Media Day on Friday at American Airlines Center.

“Look, this is a dynamic business — things happen,” Carlisle said. “Things become very personal. That was a crazy situation. (Clippers coach) Doc Rivers and I have been friends for many years. It didn’t change our relationship.

“The NBA is a family. Did it raise a level of competitiveness the first year or two? Yeah, sure, but we had fun with that. Credit to Mark and everybody in this organization. We never closed the door that this could one day happen.”

Forward Dirk Nowitzki said he put Jordan 2015 in his rear view mirror – in 2015.

“To me it was over that summer,” Nowitzki said. “The only weird time was when we played for the first time (in Dallas), it was fresh in everybody’s memory and he got booed every time he touched the ball. But other than that, when he came back the second time, it was already almost over.

“We’ve been over that a long, long time ago. People make decisions. It wasn’t only about basketball. He made some other decisions about what was best for him. We’re in no position to judge anybody. Everybody in a free agent situation has to make a decision that’s best for himself first, and that’s what he did. I moved on a long time ago. I think that’s behind us. I don’t think anybody is holding a grudge on that.”

What the Mavs are excited about in regards to Jordan is his ability to protect the rim with the best of them, rebound with the best of them, and play defense with the best of them. In a nutshell, Jordan is arguable the most prolific center in the entire NBA today and he has the sheepskin to back it up.

The 6-11, 265-pounder led the league in 2014 and ’15, made the NBA all-defensive first team in ’15 and ’16, was first-team all-NBA in ’16, and was named to the Western Conference All-Star team in ’17.

“I think on the court he’s going to be pretty great,” said Nowitzki, who will be coming off the bench this season for the first time in his 21-year career. “Some of the defensive stuff he’s going to wipe out.

“He’s one of the best rim protectors and one of the best lob threats that we have in this game. Coach Carlisle’s system will be something he’ll thrive in. We look forward to him having a good year and hopefully helping us win a lot of games.”

Off the court, apparently Jordan likes to have fun. When he stepped up to the podium to face the media for the first time Friday, the first thing the Houston native said was: “The black Dirk is finally here guys.”

Then, Jordan quickly added: “I’d like to first start off by saying I’m not going to play for the Cowboys right now. I’m going to wait guys, so hold those questions until after the season, OK?”

Actually, Jordan is a huge Cowboys fan. He attended this past Sunday’s game in Arlington against the New York Giants.

As far as expressing his jovial side, Jordan said: “I’m very happy to be here. I’m a very open and charismatic guy. You haven’t seen this side?

“You (media) guys hated me the past three years, so I probably wasn’t very open in interviews. You know what I mean? I’m excited to get to know all of you guys. I’m excited about this new chapter.”

So too are the Mavs.