Day 306

Fresh Start_306: Where to for Blake Griffin?

This is the beginning of the end for the Los Angeles Clippers. With Blake Griffin and Chris Paul opting out of their current contracts to become free agents—starts to show the writing on the wall for Doc Rivers and the front office for the Clippers.

Paul is most likely looking for the maximum amount of money he can get; which is with the Clippers and it is a shade over $200 Million. Chris Paul is the president of the Players Association and helped lead the change in the salary cap, so why wouldn’t he reap the benefits of something that he helped lead the charge on?

Blake Griffin on the other hand is looking to move on. Griffin has had a roller coaster over the past couple of years which is heighted with a fight between Griffin and a Clipper equipment manager. It is time for Griffin to step away from the Clippers and try to win somewhere else. A trade to Boston has flirted around at the trade deadline, before Miami drafted Edrice Adebayo a possible marriage of Griffin and the Heat seemed like a great fit—and it still might be. The way the Clippers are just barely keeping their head above water with the roster they currently have; Griffin needs to make a good career decision and move on from Los Angeles.

That’s right, Lob City needs to be dismantled and reconfigured in another city. Teams like Charlotte, Portland, Toronto, or Oklahoma City would be perfect fits for Griffin’s services and everyone but Charlotte was a playoff team last year. Each team has unique opportunities for Griffin and there isn’t a bad choice for the founder of Lob City.

Charlotte has an explosive backcourt with Walker and Monk running things. A font combo of Kidd-Gilchrist, Griffin, and Dwight Howard would be a formidable trio that rounds out a team that could push for the playoffs in 2017. You add that with a bench of Nicolas Batum (a tremendous knock down shooter), a versatile wing player in Marvin Williams, and an improving big in Cody Zeller—this Hornet team would be the best in franchise history if Blake Griffin signs in Charlotte. Plus, you get to party with Cam Newton.

 For Portland, the signing of Blake Griffin would add the already surplus of bigs that the Trail Blazers have but, adding Griffin would deepen the team and only make the 8^th seed in the West that much dangerous. With arguably the second-best backcourt in the NBA, the front court of Aminu, Griffin, and Jusuf Nurkic is one of the best teams in the West. The bench would be one of the deepest in the NBA with Allen Crabbe, Meyers Leonard, Evan Turner, Noah Vonleh, Maurice Harkless, and the rookies Zach Collins and Caleb Swanigan. Signing Griffin would make of one those players expendable, but having an embarrassment of riches is never a bad thing.  Griffins passing, pick and roll game, and ability to run in transition would take the Blazers to heights the team could have never dreamed of last year. Plus, you give Collins and Swanigan more room for mistakes with Blake Griffin ahead of them in the rotation. Portland would be a possible title contender within a few years, and the team would lead the league in highlight plays.

If Griffin went north of the boarder to the Raptors, it would be the toughest scenario with the cap. The Raptors need resign their franchise player Kyle Lowry on top of signing Griffin. But, if it were to happen, you would have Lowry, Griffin, and DeRozan—along with DeMarre Carroll, and Serge Ibaka in the starting five. Toronto will have the ability to play small ball at the end of games, while also mix and matching OG, Corey Joseph, P.J. Tucker, Patrick Patterson, and Jonas Valanciunas. This would make life tougher for Washington and Boston, while also making their title chances coming out the East that much more attainable. And you have one of the best cheerleaders in the NBA in Drake dancing on the sidelines.

 Lastly, if Griffin took his talent to Oklahoma City, the Thunder might break a couple of rims along their way to the Conference Finals. The pick and roll dynamite duo of Westbrook and Griffin along with Roberson, Dough McDermott, Taj Gibson, Steven Adams and the shooting ability of first round draft pick Terrance Ferguson the Thunder would be a dangerous team come playoff time. Assuming Westbrook wins the MVP on Monday; he will have a sense of accomplish and adding a superstar will only help Westbrook’s career. Griffin’s ability to pass, and score on the break will play right in with what Oklahoma City is trying to accomplish.

Again, either way Griffin wants to go this offseason, it will only spell trouble for the NBA. The best possible landing place from my prospect would be the most difficult as far as cap—being the Toronto Raptors. If Griffin assures Lowry that he’ll sign with Toronto, then Lowry can sign as well and could bring Toronto some incredible years of basketball. But, as a new opportunity arises for Blake Griffin, the title chances for the Los Angeles Clippers gets slimmer and slimmer as the dollar’s rises on Chris Paul’s paycheck.

Sources:(basketball.realgm.com, nba.com)

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