LA Clippers committed to keeping Chris Paul, Blake Griffin long term
By Tom West
LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is committed to keeping Chris Paul and Blake Griffin long term, no matter how much it costs.
LA Clippers head coach Doc Rivers couldn’t have been more insistent on numerous occasions now that he won’t be trading Blake Griffin. It doesn’t make sense for Griffin’s value to the team and the limited return they could get for him as he approaches the chance to test free agency next summer. It just isn’t going to happen. Both Griffin and Chris Paul will be able to leave in 2017 NBA free agency if they choose, though, but the Clippers will do all they can to ensure that doesn’t happen.
According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer will do whatever it takes to keep Paul and Griffin long term:
"So after three years of Ballmer’s ownership, it might just be long enough to draw some conclusions. Most importantly, according to Clippers insiders, is his commitment to keeping both Griffin and Paul long term no matter what it costs."
On even more occasions than pointless Blake Griffin trade rumors appeared this summer, we’ve heard the question that always bothers Clippers fans: “Is it time to blow up the Big 3?” It’s been asked, then asked again, then asked some more.
We’ve heard every angle before. We’ve heard how Griffin and DeAndre Jordan supposedly can’t work together, and that Jordan and Paul have personal issues.
Well, Griffin is staying, Jordan chose to come back from Dallas in 2015 free agency, and the team’s family like chemistry is always overlooked by critics. But, even still, the possibility of Griffin or Paul (or both) leaving in free agency is one thing that the Clippers can’t ignore.
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Keeping Griffin, still in the prime of his career at 27, is something that could always be expected as a priority. As for Paul, you have to think that for age alone (32 by next summer), despite how little he’s dropping off, he’d be the preferred star to leave if the Clippers could only keep one for the future.
But that doesn’t matter to Ballmer. The two are a brilliant duo and bringing in better replacements next summer will either be incredibly difficult or simply impossible. Both players will command a max salary next year, so there’s no question about what price they’ll cost.
The question for the Clippers that many will ask will obviously be whether they want to run the same core back, again, and make adjustments to the roster around them.
We can’t know what Chris Paul and Blake Griffin will want to do next year. Both have reason to stay with a team of the LA Clippers’ caliber and stay in Los Angeles, whether it’s for business reasons or for Griffin to pursue his ambitions in the comic and entertainment industry. One report has said that Griffin intends to re-sign, but we can’t know.
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There are benefits they can’t find elsewhere and clearly Ballmer will be willing to offer the max. We just have to wait and see if they want to stay.