Clippers star Blake Griffin will be sidelined until the new year, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical, who reports that Griffin is expected to undergo minor surgery on his right knee. Dan Woike of The Orange County Register, confirming Charania’s report, adds (via Twitter) that the procedure will clean up “loose bodies” in Griffin’s knee, and will likely keep him out of action for three to six weeks.
While Griffin’s right knee requires surgery, and he has also been bothered by left calf and knee soreness, according to Charania, he has been his usual productive self so far this season for the Clippers. In 26 games, the 27-year-old has posted 21.2 PPG, 8.8 RPG, and 4.7 APG, though his field goal percentage has slipped to a career-low 48.0%.
In Griffin’s absence, the team will have to fill his spot in the starting lineup and find a way to make up the 33.7 minutes per game he has averaged this season. Marreese Speights, Paul Pierce, and Brandon Bass are candidates for larger roles, while the team could lean on guys like Wesley Johnson, Austin Rivers, and Alan Anderson more in smaller lineups. First-round rookie Brice Johnson, who has yet to make his NBA debut due to a herniated disc, still doesn’t seem close to being ready for game action, tweets Woike.
Clips clearly in win now despite this. They need to make a trade to fill this hole and their hole at small forward. Either trade for Rudy gay or Carmelo or even Wilson chandler or Stanley Johnson/Tobias Harris. They can all play pf (except Johnson) even though their main position is sf. They would have to give up a first rounder or two and maybe Jamal Crawford/jj reddick but still. A move for a really good sf would turn them from western conference finals at best to top 3 teams in the league. They need to make a move
Rudy gay is prob the most attainable ^. Him for a first and second rounder. Ik they’re cap is full. But paying the luxury tax in order to have a high chance of winning the championship is worth it
Acquiring a small foward at the price of Reddick and/or Crawford then creates another hole. They lose Reddick and now they need a shooting guard. They lose Crawford and now they don’t have a bench scorer. They lose both and now you’re talking about starting Rivers next to CP3 with Felton as the primary backup guard.
I’m a Lakers fan so naturally I’ve always kind of hated on the Clippers but I can’t help but feel bad for this team. They just can’t stay healthy. I would like to see them make a trade to help fill the void left by Griffin because as much as I do not like the Clippers I would like to see CP3 get a shot at a Championship and I just feel bad for that organization at this point.