So some stuff has happened in the past week huh? Blake Griffin, the best player on the best team in Los Angeles, and probably the best Clipper ever, was traded to Detroit for some nice players and draft picks. Players whose names I doubt you know.
Why did the Clippers trade their best player?
The fundamental reasoning behind the Clippers' decision to move Blake was their competitive ceiling. Let's start with his contract. This past summer the Clippers signed Blake to a five year, one hundred and seventy million dollar contract. A contract which extends through the 2021 season, when Blake will turn thirty-three. Right now, Blake is averaging twenty-two points, eight rebounds, and five assists. That contract is not necessarily an overpay(currently), but it is exactly the kind of money a front office only wants to spend on players who can be the best player on a championship team. Blake Griffin is not that caliber of a player.
Simply put, If the Clippers had held on to Blake Griffin and attempted to surround him with talent the team would top out around a five or six seed for a couple more years, but there would be no realistic shot at a championship till they no longer had his contract on their books. Moving Blake and netting a first round pick from Detroit in the process definitely lowers their floor for the next five years, but it also increases their ceiling.
You know when you have been dating someone for a while and you think "This person is a stable, functioning adult with no obvious character flaws" so then you move in with them. And now its been a couple years and you think "I don't hate this person yet. Plus we have similar hobbies. We both eat food,drink alcohol, and like TV. I am pretty sure that's what love is"* so you begin to entertain the idea of marrying this person you live with whom you don't hate. I mean, what are you gonna do, start all over again with someone else you don't hate...
So the Clippers married Blake this past summer, then realized they didn't want to be married to Blake last week and traded him. For someone younger. Typical.
*Side Note: I once asked my grandfather about his courtship of my grandmother and what lead to their marriage, to which I got this quote "...and after a time we both seemed to be moderately fond of each other and decided to get married...".
Why did the Pistons Trade for Him Then?
I mean, he is still good.
Remember when the Clippers were good these past five years? How they would get the four or five seed, maybe win a series then flame out in the next round (often in some hilarious/tragic way) ? The Pistons saw those Clippers lose in the first or second round of the playoffs each year and thought "That should be us!"
Exaggeration aside, this trade is about two franchises with very different goals in mind. The Clippers have just had five years of what the Pistons want( regular season success, playoff drama) and the Clippers understood that Blake could not be part of a title contender on that contract.
Moreover, Stan Van Gundy likely saw Blake Griffin's success playing alongside DeAndre Jordan these past couple years and is looking to replicate that between Blake and Andre Drummond. And in their first game together there certainly was potential:
How many times have we seen this exact alley-oop between Blake and DeAndre the past couple years? Innumerable. The two also had a nice big-big pick and roll in the same game:
Blake's passing ability creates these opportunities, moreover it is also what gives me optimism that these two can co-captain an above average offense in a league that is trending more and more to having shooters at either the power forward or center positions. By the way, I remain skeptical of Blake's newfound three point stroke this year. While he is shooting thirty-three percent on three attempts per game this year, which is fine, I won't believe in it unless he keeps it up for probably another year or so. Plus his shot is still so ugly. How can you trust something that is so unappealing aesthetically?
Building a top ten defense with these two as your starting center and power forward will be a rather tall task, neither Blake nor Andre protect the rim all that effectively and while they both have some nice versatility in being able to switch onto smaller players, they are not what I would call elite in that realm, just above average.
And that is how I see this panning out, an average defensive team and, assuming they can get some shooting around Blake and Andre, an offense which might knock on the door of the top ten in the league.
So I have some rare optimism for this Blake Griffin & Andre Drummond front court tandem that Detroit has assembled. They have shown themselves to be quality passers, surround them with some floor spacers and the Pistons can achieve their dreams...fifth seed in the east with a first round playoff exit in six games every year for four years.
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