Carmelo Anthony Would Make LA Clippers Immediate Contenders
By Keith Rivas
As a CBS Sports report indicated last month, a Blake Griffin–Carmelo Anthony trade is still a possibility.
You’d have to think that at this point the Clippers can’t really take anything off the table when it comes to deciding on what to do with Blake Griffin.
Off court issues aside, the team has been doing much better on the floor without him — and it’s been for more than a short spell that it has been that way.
Even if Griffin is apologetic and puts this season’s problems behind him, it’s fair to say that the team could’ve very well moved on mentally.
Doc Rivers is trying to prepare his guys for colossal showdowns as early as the second round in the loaded Western Conference, and letting Blake Griffin be a distraction just doesn’t seem like the smart thing to do anymore.
Los Angeles is in a special position too, largely because J.J. Redick has emerged as the next second-hand star next to Chris Paul running the offense.
One of the biggest benefits that Carmelo Anthony would bring should he come to the Clippers is stability where Blake Griffin couldn’t provide.
New York seems to be fond of Kristaps Porzingis, so it’s not necessarily easy to tell at this point whether or not a move for Anthony would really hurt Knicks fans that bad.
In the event that a trade like this were to go down, the Clippers would become just that much more of a threat, especially to the Golden State Warriors.
While the Clippers have had playoff success against the Spurs and often have a power struggle with the Thunder, for whatever reason, Los Angeles has always had Golden State’s number.
Even during their regular season meetings thus far, the Clippers were well on their way to beating the Warriors handily before the pressure got to them and they let a big lead slip away.
DeAndre Jordan would be complimented nicely by adding Anthony as the PF, especially considering that Blake Griffin’s replacement, Luc Mbah a Moute, hasn’t been doing anything noticeable for several games now.
Anthony has averaged 21 points, eight rebounds, and four assists so far this season, with his numbers having the possibility to get even better on a balanced team like the Clippers.
The only downside or possible negative effect would be Anthony not embracing being a role player instead of the main superstar.
While it is possible, though, that he could end up sharing the stage with Chris Paul or DeAndre Jordan, Anthony would have to start from square one with many of the fans in Los Angeles — but if anyone was going to do it, it’d be him.
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Also, considering that a lot of Clippers fans would be open to seeing what a true replacement of Blake Griffin would be capable of, fitting in isn’t nearly out of the question.