Blake Griffin Trade: The Clippers best move was to the Cavs, not Pistons

The Blake Griffin Trade to the Detroit Pistons was the biggest news of the NBA season. However, the Clippers should have talked to the Cavaliers first.

I expected many things out of Blake Griffin this season, I even called him an MVP candidate. Before the season, I figured he would walk away and not re-sign with the Clippers. When he did re-sign for five years, the words “Blake Griffin trade” never really became a thought.

Yes, Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Blake Griffin was traded Monday (h/t Tim Daniels of Bleacher Report). And quite frankly, the Los Angeles Clippers could have gotten much more for their star power forward.

As I am sure you know already, the Clippers received Avery Bradley, Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic, a top four protected pick and a 2019 second round pick. Joining Griffin in Detroit Brice Johnson and Willie Reed.

The Clippers are in tank mode. Bradley and Harris are solid, but they are not players to build your organization around, especially with Bradley on an expiring contract. Next to go is likely DeAndre Jordan and Lou Williams.

However, if the Clippers were indeed all-in on resetting the franchise and getting rid of Blake Griffin, a much better trade could have been made with the Cavaliers. Did LA get in contact with Cleveland? Maybe, we will never know. Is there an impending deal for Jordan and Williams? Possibly. However, this would have been the best use of trading Griffin.

This deal is far better than the actual Blake Griffin trade that happened and is realistic for both sides. Kevin Love has been taking all the blame in Cleveland, his partnership with LeBron James has never been great; his defense leaves a lot to be wanted.

Replace him with Griffin, who still can space the floor for the Cavs but most importantly brings a better rebounding and defensive presence. LeBron gets to reset with a new star and the Cavs have him locked down for five years if LeBron wants to walk after this season. Griffin is no LeBron, but he is easier to rebuild around than Kevin Love.

More from LA Sports Hub

• Lakers: 5 Players to Target Through Trades to make another championship run
• LA Chargers: Week 8 against Denver Broncos is a must-win
• LA Rams: Jared Goff wants to keep the Los Angeles title streak going
• Lakers Rumors: Los Angeles Clippers interested in Rajon Rondo
• LA Chargers: Justin Herbert wins AFC Rookie of the Month

In exchange, the Clippers get a star piece in Love that excels when he leads his own team. Having Love alone may be enough to entice future stars in free agency (such as LA’s own Paul George).

Not only that, the Clippers get a high draft pick from the Nets. Assuming the team gets worse and trades Jordan as well, the Clippers are now a pretty high lottery team. That gives them two picks in the top ten easy, perhaps even two picks in the top five. That is how you reboot the franchise.

Instead, the Clippers opted to get two solid players now that likely will not amount to anything special. Harris will be good and will be their best player, but still is not anything special. Bradley will likely be gone, Marjanovic is nothing more than a role player.

Hence, the Clippers are practically screwed after this season unless their draft pick is a top three pick and they can draft the new face of the franchise. If they can’t, well, they are getting into Brooklyn Nets territory.

Next: What can Portland offer for DeAndre Jordan?

Overall, as you may tell, I do not quite understand the logic of this Blake Griffin trade. What I do know, though, is that it is going to be a long couple of years upcoming for Clippers’ fans. And hey, maybe the Lakers are the best basketball team in LA again!