Why the Celtics Shouldn’t Trade for Blake Griffin
The Boston Celtics have been rumored to be discussing a trade for the Clippers’ forward Blake Griffin
The Celtics have been in the news a lot recently because of their rumored interest in trading a collection of their many assets for an All-Star caliber player such as Jimmy Butler, Russell Westbrook, or Blake Griffin. Butler has been linked to Boston since before the draft after the Chicago Bulls dealt Derrick Rose to the Knicks.
Westbrook has become a topic of conversation because of the Kevin Durant’s shocking decision to leave Oklahoma City and sign with the Golden State Warriors. He has one-year left on his deal and most believe that he will unlikely want to return with Durant skipping town. If the Thunder want to get anything in return for him, the sooner they deal him, the higher their return will be. Teams know they’re getting desperate, which could make for some low-ball offers.
As for Griffin, the Los Angeles Clippers have been on the brink of being championship contenders for about four years now, but have never been able to make that jump to the level of the Thunder, Spurs and Warriors. With Chris Paul inevitably aging, the Clippers front office is ready to win right now. DeAndre Jordan also just inked a huge deal last offseason, meaning he is likely to be around for a while.
Griffin and Jordan have been an exciting duo for Clippers’ fans, but their games are too similar with their acrobatics in the air and solid rebounding/defense. The floor sometimes can sometimes become too small for them both to be occupying the post at the same time.
Also, neither is a good free throw shooter which also creates some problems at the end of games when they have already squandered 10-to-12 points at the line collectively.
This all leads me to believe that the Clippers are ready to try something different this season. Trading Griffin is the most likely because not only is he arguably their biggest under-performer in the playoffs, but he is also the guy that will bring the most back in return to their roster in a trade. A lot of teams will offer quite the package for a talent like Blake Griffin.
With all this being said, could the Celtics be a suitor for Griffin? And, do they have the right assets to offer to the Clippers?
I believe the simple answer to both question is yes.
The Celtics have as many assets as just about any team in the NBA right now and could easily acquire a player like Griffin without completely breaking the bank. The Celtics would also be a great destination for Griffin because of the market size. If they did acquire Griffin, he would immediately be the fan-favorite with all the theatrics, personality, and excitement he brings.
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The part about Griffin-to-Boston I don’t like is his actual fit into the current roster.
Griffin’s game is one that I see fading with time because of how much he relies on his athleticism for production. He especially excels with great point guard play, and a lot of transition, fast-break dunks, but other than that, he is a slightly above average defender and an average at best mid-range shooter. He also doesn’t have a 3-point shot or the ability to hit free-throws.
Don’t get me wrong, he can dominate a game at times depending on the matchup, but how could you tell me you would rather have him on this Celtics team than either Russell Westbrook or Jimmy Butler?
That’s absurd.
Both of those guys would immediately make the Celtics into one of the top-two teams in the East, while Griffin would not. Pairing Al Horford with Griffin down-low is a good thought, but I see them ultimately struggling when they have to go up against a physical team like Toronto or Cleveland.
Come playoff time, adding Griffin over Westbrook or Butler would be a huge mistake.
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With this being said, I would take Griffin over not getting a deal for any all-star caliber player this season at all. I think Danny Ainge should hold off on any Griffin trade until he is sure that both Westbrook and Butler are firmly out of the picture.