Don’t expect a Blake Griffin trade to go through anytime soon.
This could be because the Los Angeles Clippers simply aren’t inclined to move him. He is a 27-year-old superstar. Those don’t grow on trees.
Of course, he will be a free agent in 2017. It’s only smart of the Clippers to explore moving him, which we can assume that they’ve done. And that market for him may not be as strong as we think, on account of possible issues with his left quad, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald:
“I still think there’s a concern with his leg,” he said, referring to a partially torn left quad tendon that cost Griffin serious time last season and never fully healed before causing him to miss the end of the playoffs. He reportedly received a bone marrow injection following the season, which is keeping him off the U.S. Olympic team.
“We looked into him, and we’re hearing that’s a pretty serious thing,” the source continued. “I’m not saying you don’t go after him, but you’d better be really sure about that leg before you go making any big commitments.”
This puts the Clippers in a super difficult situation.
Either they don’t want to trade Griffin, in which case their title hopes are at the mercy of this injury and its ability to heal and stay healed throughout the entire season; or they are actually open to moving Griffin, in which case his value is inherently curtailed by the uncertainty surrounding his leg, plus the fact that he’s a flight risk for his next team in 2017.
These questions, more likely than not, only assure us that there won’t be a Griffin trade this summer. If he is healthy to start the season and looks like his old self without suffering any setbacks, the Clippers can resume demanding a king’s ransom for his services without meeting any sort of serious pushback.
Basically, stay tuned. Griffin’s rumor mill is light years away from closing up shop.
