NBA Trade Rumors: Clippers Reportedly Put Blake Griffin On Trading Block
Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
It has been a rocky season for superstar forward Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers. The 26-year-old veteran has been dealing with injury problems all year long and to make matters worse, Griffin was involved in an off-the-field altercation with the team’s assistant equipment manager.
With Griffin out for a considerable amount of time due to a broken right hand suffered in the fight off the floor, the Clippers have been without their star forward leading to concern about the eventual playoff push. Although Griffin has been considered untouchable since being drafted out of Oklahoma in 2009, that stance may have changed after the altercation. Griffin is now rumored to be on the trading block, according to Mitch Lawrence of Sporting News:
The Clippers have talked to the Nuggets about trading Blake Griffin to Denver, per NBA sources.
— Mitch Lawrence (@Mitch_Lawrence) February 5, 2016
The Denver Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers are the first teams to surface in the rumored trade talks for Griffin. Los Angeles may be putting feelers out to see what kind of market there is for Griffin with Denver and Philadelphia being potential destinations early in the process.
With the NBA trade deadline about two weeks away on Feb. 18, Griffin’s name may continue to circulate around the league. There’s been some debate about whether the Clippers should shake things up with Doc Rivers’ squad considered to be a second tier in the Western Conference behind the Golden State Warriors, Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs.
As of right now, the Clippers have 15/1 odds to come out on top in the Western Conference, according to Sportsbook.ag. The Thunder (8/1), Spurs (19/10), and Warriors (1/2) all have better odds to be Western Conference champions.
The right trade for Los Angeles could help shake things up in the West, but whether Rivers and company are bold another to trade Griffin remains to be seen.
