DeAndre Jordan had a change of heart during last year's free-agent moratorium. (AP)

The DeAndre Jordan Rule has found its way into summer free agency.

In the aftermath of the free-agent center’s tortured change-of-heart that led him to return to the Los Angeles Clippers, the NBA and the players association agreed to shorten the July free-agency moratorium and allow verbal commitments to become signed contracts in a shorter period of time, league sources told The Vertical.

The NBA and union agreed to make an alteration to the Collective Bargaining Agreement, shortening the moratorium this summer to July 1-6, sources said.

Teams were informed with a memo on Thursday evening, sources said.

The CBA had called for the moratorium to run from July 1-11 in 2016.

Jordan had committed to signing a maximum contract with the Dallas Mavericks early in the free-agency period last summer, but a change of heart inspired a surreal scene at his family’s home in Houston on the eve of the moratorium’s end six days later. Los Angeles Clippers ownership, management and players converged on Jordan and helped change his mind – all while the Mavericks organization was unable to get access to Jordan.

The free-agent moratorium exists as a way to try and level the playing field in free agency, offering players a time period to negotiate with teams and not be pressured into immediate decisions.

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