Blake Griffin (Photo : Harry How | Getty Images Sport)
The Boston Celtics were at the heart of NBA trade rumors and they seemed to have gained leverage by dangling the Brooklyn Nets' trade picks.
This could be a strategy by Danny Ainge to weed out which players could be traded and which players are "untouchable" to their teams. So far, according to the rumor mill, it's Blake Griffin who's the possible target.
Griffin was involved in an ugly incident with the LA Clippers' trainer and while this was not reason enough to trade a superstar away, it did affect his untouchable status.
There were different sources who tweeted about the Blake Griffin trade but Sean Deveney of Sporting News confirmed the three-team trade that would send Blake Griffin to the Celtics, Rudy Gay to the Sacramento Kings and Boston would send picks to the Kings.
Deveney also revealed why the deal has not happened yet: "The Celtics would give up some number of their upcoming draft picks, but opposing front-office members say they don't want to give up either Brooklyn pick Boston can own in the next two years."
Clearly, the Clippers are sending out the best player in the trade and Rudy Gay is not ample compensation for Griffin. Deveney also said that the Clippers "will want a deal that involves draft picks and a frontline star who can keep them in Western Conference contention."
With the Golden State Warriors, acquiring Kevin Durant, "Western Conference contention" takes an entirely new meaning. The Clippers should somehow become a stronger, deeper team to keep pace.
Back in February, there were rumors about the Clippers reaching out to the Denver Nuggets, as Chris Broussard of ESPN mentioned on ESPN Radio (h/t Real GM). Broussard has misfired before, but lately, he was one of those who said that Kevin Durant was going to the Warriors two days before it actually happened.
"I've been told the Clippers actually called Denver and offered Blake Griffin and Lance Stephenson for Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried, Will Barton and Nikola Jokic. Denver turned it down because Blake will be a free agent after next season. Plus they like some of those young kids," Broussard said. The ESPN scribe also mentioned that Doc Rivers denied this claim.
Rivers has denied many things before, even his transfer to the Clippers from Boston at first. Thus, the reports could not be easily dismissed based on that.
There is a possibility that the deal could be revisited. The Nuggets probably balked at taking Lance Stephenson, and now he's gone. Also, Nikola Jokic has developed into a Nuggets' cornerstone, so he's off the table.
But if the Clippers take Gallinari, Faried and Barton for Blake Griffin, that is a possibility. Those three players will give the Clippers depth-something the Warriors lost in adding Durant.
The Nuggets, like the Celtics, still want to get a star and Griffin paired with Jokic and point guard Emmanuel Mudiay is a young core to watch. The only caveat is Griffin's free agency. If he would assure an extension, this could be a deal that could rival the Boston offer. If Danny Ainge refuses to budge on the Brooklyn Nets' picks, this is the best alternative.
