After losing Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets, the L.A. Clippers were at a standstill. They were left with Blake Griffin — who's injury-ridden history marred the franchise's bright future. It was a sign that they had to move on, but had initial troubles of doing so, mainly because of the personal connection between Griffin and owner Steve Ballmer. Jerry West, the consultant for the Clippers, opened up about the decision in trading Griffin.
As reported by Marc Stein of The New York Times:
“No one wants to do that, particularly with someone like Blake Griffin,” West says now. “It was very difficult for everyone, especially Steve, because he really liked Blake personally. But this franchise was really stuck. There was nowhere for it to go. You have to figure out how far away you really are and how we can get there.”
Ballmer, for his part, recalled the tough decision he was faced with:
“Don’t be afraid to make that tough decision if you need to,” Ballmer recalled West telling him.
“In terms of how to set up a front office, how to think about problems, talent evaluation — Jerry is a superstar,” Ballmer said.
And as we all know by now, Griffin and his five-year, $171 million contract went to the Pistons, along with Willie Reed and Brice Johnson. The Clippers got Avery Bradley, Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic, a 2018 first-rounder and a 2019 second-rounder.
The Griffin-era might've been cut short, but the Clippers now have ample cap space and a mighty good chance of getting the top players in the NBA Draft this summer.
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