Los Angeles Clippers power forward Blake Griffin. (Photo : Getty Images)
The trade deadline proved anti-climactic as one of the biggest names did not budge. The offseason would be interesting for Blake Griffin, though.
The Blake Griffin trade did not materialize and Doc Rivers was quite adamant that he never even considered it, contrary to rumors that he just did not get what he was asking for. His comments shared with Yahoo Sports reveal that.
"I love him," Rivers said when asked of why he didn't trade. "He's a good player. He was only having an MVP year before he got injured. I laugh at some of the stuff about moving him. I've said from Day One he is not going anywhere. Of course, every team should call. That's their job. That doesn't mean we have to listen and we didn't."
Did teams actually inquire? "There was some, but not a lot because we shot them down so quickly. Reading about some of these crazy rumors in the paper was comical to us," Rivers said. "You can take the call, but you don't have to listen. We like our team. We're in the job of trying to make our team better, but we like our team."
Rivers' position is sound, because Griffin is a franchise player and the setback is temporary. It's not like a debilitating injury or that his skills have waned in any way. Nothing in the current situation affects Blake Griffin, the basketball player in the long-term.
The Clippers President of Basketball operations who doubles as the head coach did mention about improving the team. We would not be privy to what Rivers turned down, but it would be interesting to see if he would consider offers in the offseason.
The Clippers as currently constructed would be hard-pressed to contend against teams like the Golden State Warriors (who beat them three times this season already) and San Antonio Spurs (although they beat them convincingly) and perhaps no offer would have made them better than any of those teams-which is the only reason to even consider losing a player like Blake.
Team site Clipperholics also looked for improvements through buyouts as they want the team to go all in this season. What will Doc Rivers do? They will continue to miss Griffin with a return still not imminent, how long can they keep winning without him?
