Clippers: Blake Griffin-Carmelo Anthony trade won’t happen
By Tom West
The Los Angeles Clippers trading Blake Griffin to the New York Knicks for Carmelo Anthony is a rumor that’s emerged in the past and may arise again this summer, but it isn’t going to happen.
A Blake Griffin for Carmelo Anthony trade is an intriguing one for many NBA fans. Seeing Griffin leave the Los Angeles Clippers after the altercation with Matias Testi and his injury troubles is a narrative that has only been encouraged. He doesn’t fit, they won’t win a championship, and it’s time for him to go — apparently.
As for Anthony, him leaving the New York Knicks, despite signing a five-year, $124 million deal in 2014 (with a no-trade clause), would go to show just how much the team is struggling to find contention if the face of their franchise wants to leave.
But that’s what some believe to be true and even encouraged while trade rumors (albeit somewhat farfetched) popped up in February. Kristaps Porzingis, known as Porzingod among the joyous fans in New York, is emerging as the Knicks’ future after a rookie season that surpassed expectations, leaving a nearly 32-year-old Melo on a gradual downward spiral at the latter stage of his career.
“I feel like the best thing for the team right now is to keep them together.” Doc Rivers on the Clippers.
He’s still one of the best scorers in the NBA (as any player will tell you), he played more for his teammates this season and averaged a career-high 4.2 assists per game, but is he really happy in New York? Is all that money really enough to make him pour every ounce of trust into Phil Jackson to make this team relevant again?
Even after adding genuine talent last summer, headlined by Robin Lopez and Arron Afflalo, the Knicks came up short when the potential to steal the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference no longer seemed too farfetched.
Of course, as head coach Derek Fisher was fired and they gradually stumbled to a 32-50 record and the 13th seed, that was an awfully long way from being a reality.
It’s sparked more questions as the season has continued that perhaps living out each year on his contract will be too much if the Knicks aren’t going anywhere, causing some in the organization to think he may consider moving on (per ESPN’s Ian Begley on April 11):
"But some in the Knicks organization believe Anthony may change his stance — and look into his options on the trade market — if the Knicks fail to add talent in free agency, league sources with knowledge of the situation said last month."
Perhaps, before any speculation goes too far, it simply comes down to who the Knicks can add this summer. They have no picks in the 2016 Draft which is never a good position to be in, and that only places more pressure onto free agency. Yet, with the team’s prospects still being so low and and the rising salary cap helping everyone else around the league, the Knicks throwing money at stars isn’t necessarily going to work.
With a changing market place and money everywhere, teams like the Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers don’t have the same kind of draw simply because they’re prime-time locations. Except for a cash-strapped few, everyone can make a big offer, and stars can get exposure wherever they go now. Making some solid acquisitions to improve the roster should be their priority, though, not simply losing one star for another, whoever that may be.
“I don’t really know what’s happening as far as the coaching decisions and the players,” Melo said at the end of April, per Begley. “At this point, I still have to believe in what Phil is doing. I can’t say that I don’t believe in him no more, this is over with. I still have to believe in him. I’m here, I still want to be here. I still want to be successful so I don’t have no other choice but to believe in what’s his plan.”
Some of the wording from Melo doesn’t exactly exude much confidence. “I still have to believe,” rather than “I believe,” and “I don’t have no other choice but to believe,” don’t make him sound overly confident in whatever building process the Knicks are going through.
“Oh yeah, you’ll see me (playing) for the Knicks, absolutely.” Carmelo Anthony.
But then again, he keeps reiterating the right comment of “I want to be here,” something that should help keep trade talks at bay.
Furthermore, with fellow small forward Kevin Durant hitting free agency this summer and Melo being past his prime at almost 32, he isn’t going to be the A-list commodity to sign or trade for that he was a couple of seasons ago.
At L.A.’s side of the hypothetical deal for Griffin, Doc has only emphasized his confidence in the Clippers persisting. He doesn’t want to trade the core and he doesn’t see a need to blow things up, as he revealed in an interview with Zach Lowe of ESPN:
"I’m always gonna do what’s good for the team. You don’t ever do anything but that. But I feel like the best thing for the team right now is to keep them together. Can that change? Of course it can change. But I don’t think it will."
A candid answer, accepting that something may change, but underlining the fact that he sees the core staying together as the Clippers’ best shot going forward, even if it’s for just one season.
More clippers: Will Doc Rivers change his mind about trading core?
“Oh yeah, you’ll see me (playing) for the Knicks, absolutely,” Melo said with even more confidence to Begley on May 11, further reiterating (whether it’s heartfelt or necessary) that he will still be in a Knicks jersey for 2016-17.
So, maybe he’ll stay put after all. Maybe any thoughts of him leaving to search for a trade down the line or join a LeBron James super team are irrelevant.
But this is the finite point: when it comes to Melo waiving that clause to go elsewhere, what is the basis for him to join the Clippers?
It largely seems to come down to his ties in L.A. and relationship with Chris Paul. He’s a long time friend, another star hovering around 30 years of age, hoping to finally win a championship. It’s a good connection and we saw the benefit of having enhanced floor spacing in small-ball lineups during Griffin’s three-month absence in the regular season.
No matter how enticing another elite scorer may be, though, adding in Melo on the end of his prime doesn’t take the Clippers to any kind of level that surpasses the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs or Golden State Warriors in the West.
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Doc Rivers, the Clippers, and anyone who is able to acknowledge the Western contenders knows this.
More to the point, the Clippers would lose the elite passing, rebounding, and the general triple-double nature of Griffin in the process, being forced into constant small lineups with only two bigs left on the roster as it currently stands; DeAndre Jordan and Cole Aldrich.
You can’t try to be the Warriors and hope to replicate their success.
Carmelo Anthony keeps reiterating that he’ll stay in New York to keep the media and the fans at bay, and maybe we should believe it. Not because he’s thrilled about his immediate future there, but because he seems ready to persevere and there aren’t endless trade options for him anyway.
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Ultimately, Doc isn’t exchanging Griffin for an older Melo, and a friendship with Paul isn’t enough to drastically alter two franchises.
Carmelo to the Clippers isn’t happening.