WOAH. We knew that the Clippers were involved in trade talks with teams, but Blake Griffin to Detroit? No-one saw that coming. The Pistons now own the 5x All-Star, his 5yr/$173 million contract and all the injury woes that come with him. For better or worse.

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The Deal

LA Clippers receive: Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanovic, 2018 first-round pick (protected) and 2019 second-round pick
Detroit Pistons receive: Blake Griffin, Willie Reed & Brice Johnson

IT still sounds crazy to say and I’m sure I’m not the only one thinking this. Detroit’s first-round pick is apparently protected 1-4 for the next three years and will become unprotected in 2021 according to the man, the myth, the legend, Adrian Wojnarowski, who of course, was the first one to break the story.

IT’S clear that after a summer of promising Blake the keys to the franchise the Clippers aren’t sold on that gameplan anymore. Don’t be surprised if more deals follow as LA stocks up on young players and draft picks by potentially dealing their other trade targets DeAndre Jordan and Lou Williams. The rebuild is real in LA.

FOR the Pistons I don’t love this move. I feel like they may have given up too much for a player who has battled injury issues his entire career and has already spent time on the sidelines this year too! There’s no doubt though, with Drummond and Griffin in their frontcourt, Detroit is all-in on making the playoffs now and winning in the near future.

Image from sportsnet.ca

GOING all in with Dre and Blake could pay dividends for the Pistons and see them become the Pelicans of the East with two dominant big men leading the charge. Of course, as is the case in NOLA they will need to surround these two with solid supporting players and all of a sudden they have become at least somewhat more interesting come free agency.

FOR LA it’s a clear sign that an era has ended. Paul last offseason, Griffin now and perhaps more to come (watch your back Doc). It’s a shame after all the success they had over the last decade that they couldn’t break through and time will tell if they are destined to retake their place in the Lakers shadow or if they can try and turn things around quickly. They received solid pieces in return for Blake, but a 5x All-Star for solid pieces while also giving up your 2018 first rounder isn’t a home run by any stretch.

WOW.

Peace ✌

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