Are the Los Angeles Clippers facing the same superstar dilemma as the Oklahoma City Thunder?
The NBA world has gone into a “what will Russell Westbrook do?” frenzy since Kevin Durant announced his decision to join the Golden State Warriors via The Players’ Tribune on day 4 of free agency.
The Thunder have gone from one of the top three teams in the NBA to facing the very real possibility of losing both their generational superstar talents within a single summer. Westbrook is undoubtedly the top free agent going into the summer of 2017, and you can almost guarantee he’ll have max offers coming out of his ears on July 1st.
This is a fate that the Los Angeles Clippers are hoping to avoid a year from now. Both Blake Griffin and Chris Paul have a player option for 2017-18 and J.J. Redick will have an expiring contract after 2016-17. With the cap projected to rise to $102m, it’s pretty likely that all three will explore their options, especially if the Clippers come up short of their playoff goals again.
The big question that both teams now face is whether or not to trade their star players and re-stock with new assets, or risk losing them for nothing on the open market.
OKC at this point really only have two options: trade Westbrook or renegotiate to a multi-year contract extension. Having just lost a former MVP in Durant, not only for nothing in return, but to their biggest rivals in the Western Conference, the Thunder cannot afford for lightening to strike twice.
More from Clippers News
- Grade the trade: Clippers shockingly land Trae Young in wild proposal
- 3 of the most overpaid players on the LA Clippers’ roster
- How will the LA Clippers fare in the in-season tournament?
- Why the LA Clippers should steer clear of recent gold medalist waiver
- LA Clippers 2023-24 full 82-game schedule
It’s why the rumors are flying, from murmurs that Westbrook is more motivated than ever to fight it out with the Thunder to the notion that he’ll be traded sooner rather than later. It all comes down to whether he commits and whether Sam Presti pulls the trigger to avoid future risk if no deal is agreed to this summer.
Blake Griffin’s name has been passed around by various NBA front office executives since breaking his hand in Toronto over All-Star weekend in February. But despite the Clippers’ power forward playing in a career-low 39 games across the regular season and playoffs, Doc Rivers insists that he wont be looking to trade any of the “Big 3”.
Thanks to such an incident and injury, people seem to have forgotten just how talented Griffin really is. And right now, the options to trade Blake and improve don’t seem to exist.
The Boston Celtics have been heavily rumored as a possible trade destination for both Griffin and Westbrook as they continue their aggressive pursuit of a big name payer to join new free agent acquisition Al Horford. The Celtics, along with the Lakers, who are also rumored to be interested in Westbrook, have an extensive range of desirable young assets in 2016 3rd overall pick Jaylen Brown, defensive duo Jae Crowder and Avery Bradley, and first-time All-Star Isaiah Thomas.
must read: 3 reasons to love the Raymond Felton signing
A trade with Boston would, to an extent, make some sense for both teams.
The Clippers could upgrade their wing positions with Bradley and Crowder, as well as covering the newly vacant four spot with Amir Johnson and possibly some other trade assets to flip for other rotation pieces.
Oklahoma City could replace Westbrook with Thomas or Marcus Smart, gather some draft picks and other assets for a rebuild and try to fight for one of the lower playoff spots in the West. Again, it gives them security for the future that keeping Russ may not.
However, neither team would be able to replace their player like-for-like or immediately upgrade. When healthy at the start of the season, Griffin posted 23.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and five assists per game with 50.8 percent shooting over the first two months of the season, continuing to impress the league with his rare playmaking and ball handling at 6’10”.
More from Clipperholics
- Grade the trade: Clippers shockingly land Trae Young in wild proposal
- 3 of the most overpaid players on the LA Clippers’ roster
- Trading for this player covers the Clippers’ biggest weakness
- How will the LA Clippers fare in the in-season tournament?
- Why the LA Clippers should steer clear of recent gold medalist waiver
That’s very difficult for any team to replace at any position. Griffin’s 4.9 assists per game on the season ranked 4th among all forwards, only surpassed by Draymond Green (7.4), LeBron James (6.8) and Durant (five) and his 21.4 points per game and 8.4 rebounds per game ranked 14th and 24th, respectively, across all players in the league.
Westbrook — whose 23.5-10.4-7.8 video game stat line and league leading 18 triple-doubles — would immediately put any team in the title race.
For the time being, both players will likely continue to swirl around in trade rumors as we draw closer to the start of the 2016-17 NBA season and teams look to bolster their attack and prevent a third Golden State-Cleveland Finals.
Next: Clippers' free agency options to fill final roster spot
Thankfully for the Clippers and their fans, it seems far more certain they’ll still have their star at the opening of next season. It’s a similar dilemma to OKC, but one that may take place a year apart.