Blake Griffin and the Clippers agreed to a five-year, $173 million deal last summer, keeping the star forward in LA and allowing the team to stave off a rebuild. The Clippers' presentation during the 2017 free agency period made it clear: Griffin should be a Clipper for life.
The Clippers held their free agent meeting with Griffin at Staples. They lowered the lights in the arena and raised his jersey to the rafters as a choir sang. The PA announcer said: "Tonight, we’re honoring a lifelong Clipper."
— Lee Jenkins (@SI_LeeJenkins) January 29, 2018
Oh, how quickly things can change.
In a shocking trade announced early Tuesday, the Clippers sent Griffin, Brice Johnson and Willie Reed to the Pistons for Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanovic, a protected first-round draft pick and a second-round pick. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski was first to report the deal Monday evening.
MORE: NBA community reacts to news of Griffin trade
Wojnarowski reports the Clippers are still pursuing young players and picks in potential trades for Lou Williams and DeAndre Jordan, but the organization wants the team to remain competitive and avoid the tanking route.
That sounds nice in theory. Position the franchise in the same way as the Celtics by competing now and building for later. But things are going to get worse before they get better, and the trade deadline sale might not be over. That cannot be what head coach Doc Rivers wants to hear.
After losing Chris Paul to the Rockets and a number of valuable contributors to injuries at the outset of the season, Rivers managed to keep the Clippers together behind the steady performances of Williams and Jordan, plus some MacGyver-level rejiggering of the rotation. (How many people are aware Tyrone Wallace is playing significant minutes in LA?)
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Even in the midst of a rough November losing streak, it didn't seem as though the thought of starting over was on Rivers' mind.
"I love this team and I like what we’re doing," Rivers said (via The Ringer). "We’ve got major obstacles, and if we can somehow get through it, I think we’re going to be really good."
If any Clippers fans were wondering how much input Rivers still has when it comes to front-office decisions, they got their answer Monday night.
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This is the exact situation that caused Rivers to leave the Celtics for the Clippers in the first place. Rivers said as much during the 2013 season, his first with the Clippers: "The whole rebuild thing would’ve been very difficult for me to go through again."
This might not be a full rebuild, but at the very least, LA is retooling. And that's not what Rivers signed up for, either, when he agreed to a five-year contract in 2014. He wants to win games, and he wants to push his squad into the playoffs with whatever loose pieces he can find lying around Staples Center.
Rivers has rightfully earned his spot in the Coach of the Year conversation amid what he told Sporting News just last week has been the "most challenging year" of his career. He had found joy in leading a band of veterans and misfits to right outside the playoff picture, using more than 20 different starting lineups so far this season.
It's clear Rivers is not calling the shots now, though. Owner Steve Ballmer, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank and general manager Michael Winger decided it was time for a change, and that change sent Griffin, a supposed "lifelong Clipper," out the door.
Rivers may not be all that far behind.
