Blake Griffin: A Historic 4-Team Mega Deal
By Wardell
How this helps the Clippers
What they get: Kenneth Faried, Wilson Chandler, Will Barton and ’17 Mem. first rounder
What they lose: Blake Griffin
It’s becoming more apparent that the Clippers don’t have a team that can make it past the second round of the playoffs, much less the NBA Finals.
But how can a team with three all-stars fail to become serious contenders? One word: depth, the Clippers lack it.
For each of the past two seasons, the Clippers have been praised for their ability to improve their depth, but as the season trudges along their depth never develops into its potential.
But how can they fix it? Well, it begins by realizing what the problem is.
Right now, the Clippers starting lineup consists of one 5-star player, Chris Paul; two 4-star players, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan; one 2.5-star player, J.J. Reddick; and one 1.5-star player, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. That puts their starting lineup star total at 13.
The Clippers problem is that they have 1.5 and 2.5-star players in their starting lineup, but by getting involved in this deal they exchange one 4-star player for three 3-star players, which would put their star total at 15.
Now that’s not a drastic improvement at first, but it also means that Reddick and Mbah a Moute can move to the bench which bolsters their secondary unit.
The deal would effectively make the Clippers legitimate title contenders for quite some time.
Also, the Clippers get Blake Griffin’s production and then some from the players they receive. Kenneth Faried makes up for his rebounding and high athletic presence, while Wilson Chandler gives them spacing and a legitimate wing-defender.
Will Barton would also help push the tempo, and allow for flexibility as both a high energy guard or small-ball wing in a given lineup.
Next: How this helps the Nuggets