NBA Free Agency: Blake Griffin Could Bring Parity to the East

As LeBron James shows no signs of slowing down his utter dominance of the Eastern Conference, Blake Griffin offers a glimmer of hope if the Boston Celtics can pry him out of Los Angeles.

Unfortunately, the prospect of seeing Al Horford and Blake Griffin standing beside each other dominating the Eastern Conference remains a pipe dream. Griffin should be one of the most sought after free agents this summer, but there are multiple obstacles that are still standing in the way of making this a realistic possibility.

Under the current CBA, the biggest obstacle is always going to be prying a player away from a team that is allowed to pay a them more money on a longer contract. The Los Angeles Clippers could be on the precipice of blowing things up, but as long as Chris Paul sticks around, Griffin will have a lot of incentive to finish what they started in LA.

There is the chance Paul leaves, and the Spurs appear to be an attractive option for him. That being said, it is hard to see the player who fought so hard for these super max contracts throw away the extra year and millions of dollars to chase a ring.

Another factor that could prevent these two sides from getting together would be the priorities of Boston’s front office. With Isaiah Thomas expected to get paid next summer, the Celtics are not going to be giving out two max contracts this summer.

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While Griffin presents the highest upside, his injuries could turn the Celtics towards other options, and if Gordon Hayward expresses serious interest, the Celtics may not be willing to make the necessary offer to bring in Griffin over an immensely talented player that does not have a large body of work where he cannot stay healthy.

Then, there is the final risk that if the Celtics manage to sign Griffin, he continues his trend of being injured every season, and the Celtics never get a chance to see the true damage his talent can do. If the Celtics invest in Griffin, they will not be able to do much more in ther front court beyond the rookies that were stashed away. That puts them an injury that many expect to happen now away from having a front court that is somehow worse than this year’s.

There are a lot of things working against these two parties coming together, but this just may be the paring that the Eastern Conference needs to restore some of the parity that LeBron James has been laughing in the face of for years now.

Expecting this Celtics core with the addition of Griffin to actually take down the Cavaliers is probably too optimistic, but giving Brad Stevens Griffin to play next to Horford could create the kind of unstoppable force that will give James the kind of troubles he has not faced in the East since the last time the Celtics had a championship core.

The Celtics would still have a lot of question marks with their front court depth, and with how Griffin is used, do not expect the rebounding problems to just disappear. That being said, after Horford gave Stevens one of the most dynamic seasons we have ever seen from a big, giving him another player who can similarly handle and distribute the ball will unlock levels of offensive dominance that this team has not seen in generations.

As important as shooting is for bigs in Boston’s offense, passing is the most important thing. The Celtics finally moved beyond Thomas exclusively generating the offense. Bringing in Horford opens things up in a massive way for Thomas, but everyone was held back by the most limited player on the team playing beside Horford. Stevens could have the two best passing bigs in the NBA on the same roster, and the kind of offense that could lead to is what the Celtics need to have a chance

Putting Griffin in Amir Johnson‘s place takes out the one player on offense that the Celtics had to compensate for. The Celtics already have some of the best ball movement in the league, and embraced space as much as anyone. Putting Griffin next to Horford would give the Celtics the best starting front court in the NBA because, on top of their ability to score on their own, they will give the Celtics the kind of space and play making that you need to have a chance against the best player in the world.

Even if Griffin never establishes himself from three point range, and you better believe the Celtics will try to push his shooting limits, he is still one of the most consistent mid range shooters in the league.

Griffin has made a living with a mid range jumper, and it is the kind of option that Stevens could go to time and time again when a bucket is needed. With the way the Celtics continually get players like Avery Bradley the kind of looks they know they can hit, you should not doubt how well the Celtics offense will use an athletic freak that will knock down over 50 percent of his shots, with a three point mark that is slowing trending upwards.

Horford may be able to top Grffin as a shooter or a passer, but the added dimension of Griffin’s athleticism in the paint expands the offense in yet another deadly way.

While Horford and Griffin together may not match the raw talent of the Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins pairing on the Pelicans, the Celtics play in an offense that would allow Griffin and Horford to have a better season, and be more impactful than any other duo in the NBA. The best part is that as perfect as Griffin is for this offense, there may not be a better coach to unlock the dynamic ability Griffin has repeatedly shown flashes of.

With a back court that the Celtics have been solidifying for years, and knowing that no one will have to be sacrificed at least until next summer, Griffin is the only free agent candidate that can be looked at as the potential missing piece that could get them to the finals. He would fit in seamlessly, and would not take any minutes away from the core players currently in their prime.

All the factors keeping these two apart and the lurking injury concerns make this a tough scenario to grab onto. In the end, the safest route will continue to be to build towards the future, and someone like Hayward who is on the brink of entering his prime is a piece the Celtics can trust a lot further than Griffin.

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That being said, if the win now mentality wins a few battles and Danny Ainge decides to take the kind of risk that has not been happening during the rebuild, then Griffin could come to the Celtics and give James something he may actually have to worry about in the Eastern Conference.

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