Griffin Trade Suggestions Surface Again
- Updated: January 23, 2017
The latest injury to Chris Paul has come at a particularly bad time for a Clippers team that was already fading in the Western Conference.
The Clippers have won 7 of their last 10 games at the time of this writing, and remain eight games out of the West’s top spot. The conference is so competitive that the Spurs and Rockets, in the second and third spots in the standings, have matched LA’s 7-3 record in the last 10. And the first place Warriors have gone 9-1 over the same stretch.
Projecting the Clippers’ current pace—without factoring in a lengthy absence for Paul—the team is on track for about 54 games. The average Western Conference champion manages about 60 regular season wins, according to Bwin.com. In a season where the Warriors are on pace for 70 and the Spurs are aiming for the mid-60s, it seems apparent that the Clippers are a tier below the true contenders.
And this has people in the media once again beginning to buzz about a potential Blake Griffin trade.
To be perfectly clear, this is not to suggest that there are any credible rumors out there about such a trade. But with Paul due to miss extensive time and the Clippers’ hopes for contention fading fast, the logic is plain to see. It’s increasingly unlikely that this LA core is going to get the job done. Historically speaking, the team has done better with Griffin out than when missing Paul. That makes Griffin the more sensible trade chip.
The trick would be finding a team willing to give up fair value for a player who remains one of the most talented in the game, but who has continually dealt with injuries. There’s one team, and one particular trade that always seems to surface with regard to Griffin. As GQ put it, it’s the one trade that would fix the two teams: Blake Griffin for Carmelo Anthony.
This trade has been circulating for some time among NBA analysts, writers, and fans for a few reasons. For one thing, Griffin would be the big-ticket superstar the Knicks have needed for years. For another, it is widely believed that Anthony might only waive his no-trade clause to go to LA, where his wife has strong ties in entertainment and celebrity circles. Finally, Paul and Anthony are good friends, and Anthony would provide the dynamic wing presence that the Clippers have lacked in their current era.
In all likelihood, this is the sort of move that is simply too dramatic to actually occur before the trade deadline. But it may be a way for the Knicks to move on from a situation that appears to have grown contentious between Anthony and meddlesome owner Phil Jackson. It might also help to revive the Clippers, if not for this season than for the remainder of Paul’s prime. For these reasons, we can probably expect to hear more chatter about it in the coming weeks leading up to the late February deadline.
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