ESPN’s Zach Lowe examines Blake Griffin’s situation in Los Angeles and whether or not he should be traded. Naturally, the Celtics are referenced:
If you want to poach Griffin, now or in the offseason, you’re probably going to have to come with an offer that — at least in Rivers’ view — maintains the Clippers’ spot in the league’s hierarchy. The Boston Celtics could build an offer that appears to help the Clippers in both the short- and long-term: Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, one big man and two first-round picks — including one of Brooklyn’s unprotected picks.
Bradley and Crowder would give the Clippers two 3-and-D guys to space the floor around the Paul/Jordan main course. The Clips could play exactly like they are playing now, only with better players. The Bradley/Crowder combo would equip L.A. with enough quality wings to at least try and match small-ball lineups with Golden State.
Wow…
I’m willing to entertain this scenario provided the Celtics keep Brooklyn’s pick this year and give up the 2018 pick. Unlike a lot of the people I argued with on Twitter this morning, I view Griffin as a Top 10 player. I think most experts do. He’s the take-over scorer this team desperately need. I’d hate to lose AB and Crowder’s two way play, but it’s much easier to replace them than find a guy like Blake.
Griffin is far from perfect, as Lowe points out:
Griffin is entering the late stages of his prime, and unless he learns to shoot 3s, his jumpy game might not age well…
Griffin is a tricky piece in the modern NBA: a big man who doesn’t shoot 3s or protect the rim. There is a lot of evidence suggesting that you can remove those players, even the ones with killer post-up games, replace them with skilled shooters who make less money, and lose basically nothing.
Griffin is the apex of that sort of player. He is the DeMar DeRozan of power forwards — the guy who lacks a skill that is normally a prerequisite for his position, but stands as a huge net-plus anyway because he has gotten so damn good at everything else.
I should also mention the fact that Griffin just fractured his hand punching his friend in the face. Pretty sure that eclipses anything DeMarcus Cousins has done.
In other not-so-surprising news, Marc Stein says Danny Ainge is looking to deal:
Boston has been quietly aggressive, with its well-chronicled array of assets, in search of the splashy move we all know Danny Ainge would love to make. But with Sacramento thoroughly unwilling to entertain offers forDeMarcus Cousins, and Cavaliers general manager David Griffin likewise emphatically shooting down the notion of making Kevin Love available earlier this week, there isn’t a starry trade target for Ainge to chase. At least not yet.
So what do you think? Make a run at Griffin?
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