Blake Griffin Not Headed to the Denver Nuggets, Yet
Nov 24, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) battles for position with Denver Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari (8) and forward Darrell Arthur (00) in the third quarter at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
The Denver Nuggets have declined a trade to acquire Clippers’ forward Blake Griffin, ESPN’s Chris Broussard reported Monday.
Broussard informed the trade was alleged to have Los Angeles shipping Griffin and guard/forward Lance Stephenson for Denver’s shooting forward Danilo Gallinari, power forward Kenneth Faried, shooting guard Will Barton and center Nikola Jokic.
This news comes out after reports in early February stated both the Denver Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers had contacted the Clippers about the power forward. While Clippers’ head coach Doc Rivers has refuted this idea, one can see the desires of both sides.
Acquiring Griffin would help Denver get the superstar they have been trying to get since Carmelo Anthony left and that they tried to bring to town with Kings’ power forward/center Demarcus Cousins this past summer.
The Clippers, on the other hand, would get a great haul in younger players to help their team retool and make a playoff run this summer from the Nuggets.
Yet, if this trade had gone through as of now it would have been lopsided greatly in favor of the Clippers.
Los Angeles would get two stars, not superstars but stars, in Gallinari and Faried, but also two get younger players from Denver in Barton and Jokic. Both younger players are also currently on relatively cheap contracts.
Barton is the first year of a three-year, $10.6 million contract. A bargain for a man averaging 15.5 points, 2.4 assists, and 6.0 rebounds this season. Nikola Jokic is also inexpensive, earning less than a $1.5 million over the next four years, as he develops.
The trade becomes more uneven as Griffin is out of basketball for at least three more weeks with a broken hand suffered in a fight with a Clippers’ equipment staffer.
This is obviously the Clippers trying to take advantage of a Nuggets team on the rise by offering up a big name.The problem is one big name won’t put the Nuggets over the edge if they trade away all their pieces that would make it great.
We don’t know if this was just a start and the Clippers are willing to bring their price down or the bottom line for a trade to be completed.
With the NBA Trade Deadline just two days away it will be interesting to see what Denver does or doesn’t do.