Blake Griffin traded to Detroit

Cellar-Door

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So Woj reported LAC and DET working on a Blake deal, KOC followed up with some details he heard:
Blake for Bradley/Harris/Boban and a 1st as the framework.

Interesting. Harris is a decent player and his deal actually gets less expensive in the 2nd year, Boban is nothing, a 1st is decent? Bradley has continued his rapid defensive decline and now can't shoot either, but a return to form is possible (though he's an UFA at year's end), Seems incredibly light for Blake to me.
 

the moops

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When I hear things like this, I almost wish the Celtics had signed some shitty dudes to horrible contracts to include in trades like this
 

Ed Hillel

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They must really hate him in the locker room and not trust him physically. This makes very little sense. Detroit gets a steal and now had a monster 1-2 punch inside.
 

bowiac

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Blake is the best player in that deal, but he's 28, constantly hurt, and has been less than dominant in a modern offense. Not saying I agree, but I can at least see why the Clippers aren't eager to be paying him $32M next year. Of course, that raises questions as to why they gave him that contract in the first place, but spilled milk and all that.
 

Statman

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Blake is the best player in that deal, but he's 28, constantly hurt, and has had trouble being all that effective in a modern offense. Not saying I agree, but I can at least see why the Clippers aren't eager to be paying him $32M next year. Of course, that raises questions as to why they gave him that contract in the first place, but spilled milk and all that.
I get that, but why did they re-sign him only to trade him for a pu pu platter of suck?
 

bowiac

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I get that, but why did they re-sign him only to trade him for a pu pu platter of suck?
Well, he got hurt again, which I imagine contributed. But I think it's possible they just re-evaluated where Griffin, and the team generally were going in the next few years.
 

Blacken

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This feels like a deal where it's likely that we look back in three years and go "both teams lost."
 

Kliq

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Wow that’s a big trade for mid-season, can’t think of the last one this seismic, maybe Melo? I think this is bigger than Boogie. Detroit isn’t giving up a lot to acquire a top 15 player when he is healthy, but they are giving up their two best shooters for a big when they already have a big playing 34 minutes a game. Are the wings they plan on replacing Bradley and Harris with good enough to space the floor for those two to play together?

Also, this has to mean DeAndre is on the move as well imo.
 

cheech13

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Boban's nothing and Bradley's an UFA this summer, so basically the deal is Harris and a first for Blake. Really? That's it?

I have serious concerns about what Blake is going forward but I thought he was worth a lot more than that. You'd have to think DJ is on the move now, too.
 

bowiac

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Blake Griffin is going to make $38M soon. That contract is pretty close to being underwater.

This trade seems fair to me. If I had to pick, I'd say the Clippers won.
 

sox311

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That's what she said.
I'm going back an forth on this. Harris is a good contract and good number 2/3 option. And expiring after next year if they want to package him in a rebuild.
Avery is UFA, does LA want to pay him 18 a year? Does anyone?
Boban is an 8 million expiring after next season, so could be a good trade piece.

It isn't what you would expect for a superstar, that is for sure.

I am not sure what to think. All I know is that Blake must be very pissed off.
 

ElUno20

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Has to be a DJ move coming. Such a weird out of nowhere trade. Feels like step 1 of some bigger plan
 

cheech13

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Does anyone want to do the math on the Clips cap situation going forward? Saw on Reddit that they may be able to make room for two max guys this summer depending on how they want to handle the Bird Rights situations with DJ, Lou and AB.

Remember when Orlando dumped Tobias for expirings? That was fun.

Remember also when CP3 and Blake kidnapped DJ to get him to resign with the Clippers? That was fun, too.
 

ElUno20

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Also this is pretty much a career ender for Blake. Detroit? He might just retire
 

Tony C

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Well, he got hurt again, which I imagine contributed. But I think it's possible they just re-evaluated where Griffin, and the team generally were going in the next few years.
Didn't Jerry West come on board as Senior Advisor after that signing? I imagine that had a big impact.
 

Greg29fan

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Does anyone want to do the math on the Clips cap situation going forward? Saw on Reddit that they may be able to make room for two max guys this summer depending on how they want to handle the Bird Rights situations with DJ, Lou and AB.
Woj says DAJ and Lou are on the block still as well.
 

bowiac

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Didn't Jerry West come on board as Senior Advisor after that signing? I imagine that had a big impact.
I didn't remember the timing of West joining, but that would explain it, yeah.

Good for the Clippers for taking a realistic view of where the franchise was going.
 

Cellar-Door

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Does anyone want to do the math on the Clips cap situation going forward? Saw on Reddit that they may be able to make room for two max guys this summer depending on how they want to handle the Bird Rights situations with DJ, Lou and AB.

Remember when Orlando dumped Tobias for expirings? That was fun.

Remember also when CP3 and Blake kidnapped DJ to get him to resign with the Clippers? That was fun, too.
After this they have:
Gallinari: 21.6
Harris 14.8M
DeAndre 24.1 Player option
Austin Rivers: 12.7 Player option
Boban: 8M
Tedosic: 6.3 player option
Johnson: 6.1 player option
Beverley: 5 M
Decker 2.8M
Thornwell: 1.4
Evans: 1.4

UFA:
Williams
Bradley

So they need to move DeAndre, maybe a couple others.
I'd expect moving DeAndre and desperately trying to dump Gallo. The rest is sketchy. If you're gunning to steal Lebron you probably keep Lou Will, Bradley, maybe Harris.
Is LeBron interested in a team of: Lou Will, Bradley, Harris, Beverley, rookies a second Max (George?) and the DeAndre return?
 

ElUno20

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Basketball wise it makes sense but just as a fan, I feel bad for Blake. What a cut throat move
 

Imbricus

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If Clippers are going full tankathon, they must be a bit annoyed they're 8-3 over their last 11 games. That's not going to help get to the league's worst record.
 

cheech13

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What's wrong with Detroit? With Blake (and a better point guard), Detroit could be a 5-seed in the East.
They don't have a better point guard; they have Reggie Jackson. And no shooters. I'm not sure that they make the playoffs this year.
 

Eddie Jurak

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If there's one predictable aspect of this deal, it is Doc reacquiring a player from his former Celtics team.
 

Statman

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Basketball wise it makes sense but just as a fan, I feel bad for Blake. What a cut throat move
I don't feel bad for him at all. Only the Clippers could have offered him a fifth year at $38M. Those dollars will help alleviate any concerns he may have about living half the year in Detroit.
 

DJnVa

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Avery cost $8.8MM, we don't have the bad contracts to cover that.

Lou will be just fine
Unless the CBA has changed, we still cannot reacquire Avery.

EDIT: Or maybe we can.

Do we want to?
 
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cheech13

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No they can't.
They can. See Bobby Marks' tweet for reference.


Avery Bradley is also now eligible to be traded to Boston. The Celtics are not considered the last team he played for (see Andrew Bogut last trade deadline) (@BobbyMarks42)
 
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the moops

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They have the dpe, don't need any bad contracts. Though I'm not sure what role current Avery would actually have on this team. He can shoot but can't create his own offense as we've seen for years, and current Avery (unless he can get healthy very fast) isn't a good player at all.
DPE not enough to cover Avery's salary
 

DannyDarwinism

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Blake deserves a lot of credit for developing his shot and becoming a good passer, but his athleticism is still what made him great. He has a daunting injury history, he's about to turn 29, and he's owed $142 million over the next four years. That's a pretty big risk for Detroit. Clips get a solid young offensive player in Harris, plus the picks, but for West, this was really about getting out from under that contract while he still could, because it has the potential to be a Noah-esque albatross.
 

Tony C

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Basketball wise it makes sense but just as a fan, I feel bad for Blake. What a cut throat move
yep, you're right that West was on board for when Blake signed and not only that a little google search tells me that apparently he was key to convincing Blake to sign. :) That is cut throat -- Jerry f-ing West don't play around. I do feel bad as a very very casual Clippers fun -- this was a fun crew and I thought they'd make the playoffs and be a bit of a pain in the ass. Hell, no idea but maybe they still can since they got some decent talent back.

Blake deserves a lot of credit for developing his shot and becoming a good passer, but his athleticism is still what made him great. He has a daunting injury history, he's about to turn 29, and he's owed $142 million over the next four years. That's a pretty big risk for Detroit. Clips get a solid young offensive player in Harris, plus the picks, but for West, this was really about getting out from under that contract while he still could, because it has the potential to be a Noah-esque albatross.
I truly think Griffin is underrated -- he's a lot better without CP3 and playing Point Forward is something he can do and do well. That said, I also fully agree with your post. The injuries and the age make him a very scary player to build around. I think he might bring some excitement to Detroit for this season and Van Gundy seems to only think short term....but overall this trade is a clear win for the Clippers, even if their future path isn't really clear.
 

Cellar-Door

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As a side note.... I don't want Avery back. He's really declined defensively, and he hurts the "Switch everything" strategy by just being too small at the 2. Having big guys at the 2 has been huge this year. Also his shot abandoned him. There are better options for bench 2 out there (Reke, Lou Will) given that what we need is a guy to get his own shot on the bench (and not be Marcus Morris)
 

the moops

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Bird rights come with Lou, right?

Gotta think that factors in to whatever Danny does with the DPE. Makes sense to use that exception thinking as much about future years as this year.