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Blake Griffin Appears on Pardon My Take and Discusses Los Angeles Clippers

By Joseph Raya-Ward

LA Clippers Blake Griffin (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
LA Clippers Blake Griffin (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 03: Los Angeles Clippers consultant Jerry West talks with executive vice president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank at the game against the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center on April 3, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 03: Los Angeles Clippers consultant Jerry West talks with executive vice president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank at the game against the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center on April 3, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /

Clippers’ Management

Early in his appearance, Griffin was asked about his trade to the Detroit Pistons and how it affected him. He was also asked whether it changed the way he looked at the nature of the league and he had this to say:

"I’d seen it happen before. I’d seen guys, you know, be promised things and never have it come to fruition, but, to, it changed how I viewed certain people for sure."

Naturally, after being sold on the idea he would be a “Clipper for Life,” Griffin would feel misled by the franchise after being unsurreptitiously shipped to Detroit a few months after signing a five-year deal. The nature of how he was given the news does not paint the franchise in much of a positive light either. Griffin said he “got a text from a friend” saying that Detroit had interest, “and that’s also how [he] found out it went through.” When asked later if he had heard anything from Clippers’ owner Steve Ballmer, Griffin flatly stated, “I haven’t spoken to him.”

Later in the podcast, Griffin was asked about his relationship with the since fired Stan Van Gundy, and had this to say about his now former coach:

"Very nice guy, funny, and actually, like, genuinely cares about people, and guys, and, uhm, that’s kinda rare."

While some may say that this is a benign heaping of praise for his coach, some Clipper fans, imbued with rumors about locker room angst, may see this is a veiled shot at Doc Rivers. Rivers has been a polarizing figure during his tenure with the Clippers and has had multiple former players criticize him after leaving the team. Griffin may be speaking here to some of the complaints former players have levied against his former head coach.