Don’t buy into Blake Griffin trade rumors

Per a report, the LA Clippers proposed a blockbuster deal to the Minnesota Timberwolves involving Blake Griffin and Karl Anthony-Towns.

According to Michael Scotto on Twitter, the LA Clippers proposed a blockbuster deal to the Minnesota Timberwolves surrounding Blake Griffin and Karl Anthony-Towns.

Nothing about this deal makes sense. Both teams are competing for a playoff spot, and both appear content with their current rosters. However, per this report, LA has been intrigued by Towns, and has offered at least Griffin to the Timberwolves.

If the Clippers were offering solely Griffin, Minnesota would have to include more than Towns to make the salaries work. KAT’s annual average salary is $6.4 million, while Griffin is set to make $34 million annually over the next five years. Jimmy Butler and Andrew Wiggins are two players that would make the deal work, but the Wolves would never deal them.

Scotto’s story states that the proposal “didn’t advance past an exploratory call” since Minnesota immediately declined. The team continued, stating that Towns isn’t for sale at this time. The author goes on to say that the Clippers are looking to rebuild and are “trending downwards”, which is entirely false.

If none of this is making sense to you, well, you aren’t alone. For one thing, the Clippers made a ridiculous push to re-sign Griffin in the off-season, so why would they try to swap him for Towns? Secondly, why would Minnesota give up several key pieces of their team for Griffin? The Wolves are currently 28-16 and are competitive in the Western Conference. Why blow things up now? Finally, why would the Clippers pursue KAT? He hasn’t lived up to expectations this season, and LA already has DeAndre Jordan down low. What would become of him? Would he also be dealt in a separate trade? A mid-season blow-up of this roster just doesn’t make sense.

This seems like an egregious load of B.S. Don’t buy into this rumor.