Using words is easier for everyone involved. But using emojis is so much more fun.

An emoji battle broke out between Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Clippers players on Wednesday afternoon as the two teams battled to convince free-agent center DeAndre Jordan to sign with them.

Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times reported last week that Jordan had agreed to a four-year, $80 million deal with the Mavericks. The race for the big man's services appeared to be over until ESPN's Marc Stein reported on Wednesday that the Clippers were making one last push to keep Jordan, as free agents aren't officially able to put pen to paper until July 9.

ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, via Stein, reported that the Clippers were going to meet with the free agent in Houston to try to sway him back to Los Angeles. That news set off an emoji battle between Mavericks and Clippers players.

Dallas forward Chandler Parsons got things started with a simple tweet:

That led to this response from Los Angeles guard J.J. Redick:

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports was quick to point out that Redick is easily able to drive to the meeting:

Clippers star Blake Griffin couldn't resist getting in on the fun:

Even a vacationing Chris Paul chimed in:

All the emojis had Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green wondering what was going on:

Paul Pierce, who will reportedly sign with the Clippers, did his best to tweet out an "emoji." 

Give him a break—he's 37 years old.

Clippers assistant coach Mike Woodson showed that this isn't just a "players only" thing: 

New Clipper Lance Stephenson apparently missed the memo:

Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers are just watching all of this unfold:

The Atlanta Hawks approved of the Cavs' sly move:

And of course, the NBA champions had to weigh in:

Eventually, Austin Rivers joined the party:

Jordan Brand took the emoji battle up a notch:

Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant dropped in on this wild situation:

At this point, nobody wants to be left out.



— Isaiah Thomas (@Isaiah_Thomas) July 8, 2015

Now we wait to see what comes next. Win or lose, there are plenty of emojis for both Mavericks and Clippers players to use once Jordan actually signs a deal. 

[Twitter]