Lakers Rumors: CP3 trade may force Blake Griffin to the Lakers

The Lakers and Clippers both dealt their starting point guards from last season. Now, according to the latest Lakers rumors, the Lakers may steal a Clipper star.

First, it was the Los Angeles Lakers that shocked the NBA after a myriad of Lakers rumors. Magic Johnson and the front office dealt D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Brook Lopez and the 27th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

Ultimately, this move was for the best as it allowed the Lakers to free up cap space for a future superstar. Mozgov was a hassle for this Lakers team, and with Lonzo Ball coming into the mix, the Lakers no longer need D’Angelo Russell.

Now, the team will get a solid year of production out of Brook Lopez. After that, Los Angeles will likely opt not to pay Lopez the same kind of money he is making now. It is widely regarded that this will be a one-year partnership.

Then, there was the Los Angeles Clippers that made an even more groundbreaking deal. The Clippers agreed to a sign and trade deal that sent Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets, bringing in Lou Williams, Sam Dekker, Patrick Beverley, and the Rockets 2018 first round pick.

While they are only giving away one year of Chris Paul’s services, you can’t help but think that the Clippers did not get back what they returned. Regardless, the new direction of the franchise under Jerry West has become clear.

This new direction very well may without another star as well in Blake Griffin. While the Clippers front office likely made this deal to make space for Griffin, there is no guarantee that he will even return. Griffin has exercised his player option, making him a free agent on July 1.

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That is where this all ties together. Griffin has been a consistent name in the Lakers rumors, and now, his path to the other locker room in the Staples Center has never seen more clear. Before the Lakers deal for Paul George, they very well may sign Blake Griffin.

Our very own Keith Rivas proposed this idea three days ago. At the time, it may not have seemed all that realistic. Now, with Chris Paul out of the mix, it seems completely doable.

Here is the trade: Los Angeles sends the Indiana Pacers Julius Randle, Luol Deng, Larry Nance Jr, and an unprotected future first-round pick for George. After drafting Kyle Kuzma, the Lakers now would open up an outlet for Griffin to eat the bulk of the minutes at power forward, giving the scoring Kuzma a chance to grow.

The Lakers starting five would then likely consist of Lonzo Ball, Jordan Clarkson, Paul George, Blake Griffin, and Brook Lopez with Brandon Ingram coming off the bench. LA could even shift George back to shooting guard, opening room for Ingram to allow him to blossom into a superstar.

Next: Paul George trying to recruit Klay Thompson to LA

This sounds like a deadly Lakers team to me, and quite frankly, the Paul trade may have evoked this. While for now it is all Lakers rumors, we may see it come to fruition in the coming weeks.

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