RUMOR: LA Clippers remain committed to re-signing Blake Griffin
With free agency in view, the LA Clippers “remain committed” to re-signing Blake Griffin long term, per Adrian Wojnarowski.
Thursday afternoon, Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski (better known as Woj) reported that the LA Clippers are looking to sign star player Blake Griffin to a long-term contract. Blake, along with teammates Chris Paul and J.J. Redick, will be a free agent this summer.
The Clippers organization will be calling some big shots that will affect the future of the team significantly. With word that they will re-sign Griffin, one could make better guesses about how the team will handle CP3 and Redick.
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Assuming that Blake receives a max contract, CP3 comes into question. The team will undoubtedly go after Paul as well, but he’ll be expecting some big bucks too. There have even been rumors that CP3 could potentially sign a contract worth $200 million.
In addition, what about J.J.? He’s been quoted saying that he wants to stay in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, the main question with re-signing all three players is the money. You would hate to see the team break up solely for this reason. These questions will have to be answered very soon.
League sources tell Woj that “[Clippers] Management remains committed to signing [Griffin] to a long term deal this summer.”
With game 6 (and a chance to force a game 7) of the first round match-up against the Jazz on Friday, this news breaks at a pivotal time. After injuring the plantar plate of his big toe during game 3, many believed that that was Blake’s last game in a Clippers’ uniform. Though it would be fitting he goes out like that, it may not be the case.
Difficult decisions ahead
It’s no secret that drafting Griffin in 2009 completely changed the culture of the franchise. In his 8 years in the league, he’s brought this team, his team, things they’ve never known.
However, while the Clippers may remain committed to re-signing him, Blake himself has some major decision making to do this summer.