The Clippers and Pistons had discussed the idea of a Blake Griffin trade for about a week before finalizing an agreement on Monday, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. However, as O’Connor writes, the door opened on a potential Griffin trade back in 2016 after the big man punched a Clippers equipment manager. Doc Rivers had “casual conversations” with the Celtics about a possible Griffin deal in the summer of ’16, then listened last season when the Knicks reached out.
Now that the Clippers have moved on from Griffin, the franchise is “starting over,” but doesn’t plan on bottoming out, a GM tells O’Connor. Depending on what other moves the Clippers make before the trade deadline, pursuing a maximum-salary player this summer could be on the table, though 2019 currently looks like the more logical time for L.A. to go after one or two max guys. If the Clips want to create more flexibility for the summer of 2018, attaching a multiyear contract like Austin Rivers‘ or Danilo Gallinari‘s to Lou Williams‘ inexpensive expiring deal in a trade could be an option, O’Connor notes.
As for the Pistons, they may not be done dealing either. According to O’Connor, Detroit remains interested in Jazz swingman Rodney Hood, and could send out forward Stanley Johnson before the deadline.
As we wait to see how the Clippers and Pistons follow up on Monday’s mega-deal, let’s round up more reactions, rumors, and analysis related to 2018’s first NBA trade:
- After initially responding to news of the trade on Monday night with a Fresh Prince of Bel-Air GIF, Griffin issued a more formal statement this morning, thanking Clippers fans and announcing that he’s ready to start “the next chapter” of his career in Detroit.
- Although the sentiment around the NBA is that the Clippers made out well on Monday, Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports wonders if the Griffin trade will be the rare blockbuster that doesn’t end up helping either team. Mannix also hears that Clips ownership has no interest in a Sixers-esque tear-down and rebuild.
- The Clippers weren’t trying to deceive Griffin when they made their over-the-top pitch to him in free agency seven months ago; if anything, they may have been trying to deceive themselves, writes Lee Jenkins of SI.com.
- The Clippers are moving in the right direction after the Griffin trade, according to Bill Plaschke of The Los Angeles Times, who calls the move a “gutsy admission of a mistake and a calculated gamble on the future.”
- With the Cavaliers set to play the Pistons on Tuesday (the newcomers won’t be active), LeBron James said it was “unfortunate” for Griffin that he was traded by the Clippers, per Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. “He spent his last nine years there,” James said. “He signed a multiyear deal there this summer, so that’s unfortunate. But that’s the business side of it. It’s both sides. It works both sides, though. It’s the business.”
- Despite a new arena, attendance and enthusiasm has been modest in Detroit this season. That’s a key reason why the Pistons needed to swing for the fences and generate some buzz by acquiring a star like Griffin, argues Ansar Khan of MLive.com.
- Pistons president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy has long been willing to push his chips into the middle of the table to land a star player, and finally got his chance to do so this week, says Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.
- We rounded up more initial reactions to the Griffin trade on Monday night.