Los Angeles Clippers power forward Blake Griffin (R) drives past Los Angeles Lakers' Metta World Peace. (Photo : Getty Images)
Recent reports have emerged that there is "no truth" about the Blake Griffin-to-Celtics rumors, but that trades for Jimmy Butler, Jahlil Okafor, or Kevin Love are all still possible at this point for Boston.
MassLive's Jay King cited Orange County Register Dan Woike's tweet as saying that a "high-level source" confirmed that "there's no truth" to all the "Blake Griffin-Celtics stuff" swirling around the internet these days.
However, King acknowledged that "the truth might be somewhere in the middle", which means the rumors are not entirely out of the blue.
The report also said that after so many seasons of consistent disappointments in the postseason, it is not surprising to know that the Los Angeles Clippers are trying to make a serious roster revamp.
It should be noted that the core group of Griffin, point guard Chris Paul, and center DeAndre Jordan, no matter how good they seem to be, had never reached the Western Conference Finals. Both Paul and Griffin are up to unrestricted free agency next summer so the Clips are perhaps thinking of dealing one or both players while they still can instead of losing the two of them for nothing next year.
King said that "after years of falling short, the Clippers could decide to try a different formula and see if something else works" especially after they experienced surprising success when the 2011 NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion was sidelined by injury for a time last season.
However, the future is looking bright for Doc Rivers and his crew, particularly after Kevin Durant joined the Golden State Warriors and that Tim Duncan is now retiring in San Antonio.
With Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and the other Spurs' veterans getting one more year older and the Oklahoma City Thunder getting a lot weaker, the Clippers may finally get a chance to go deeper into the playoffs next year if they stay together.
Meanwhile, SB Nation indicated that "both Blake Griffin and Russell Westbrook aren't available at the moment" for the Celtics, but "Butler and Okafor - and even Love - are still possibilities".
The article mentioned that Griffin will not be dealt by the Clippers while Westbrook "has not been put on the market" by the Thunder at this point of the offseason. Furthermore, more realistic targets for the Celtics right now should be the Bull's Butler and the Sixers' Okafor, who is much more available than the former.
Also, the Cavs are rumored to be trying to deal Love this summer as the club thinks he is not an ideal fit for LeBron James and company as exemplified in the recent NBA Finals.
