Blake Griffin (Photo : NBAE via Getty Images)
Currently the second best team in the Eastern Conference on paper behind the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Toronto Raptors could turn into an NBA juggernaut overnight, especially if they consider the blockbuster trade proposal suggested by Bleacher Report featured columnist Dan Favale.
According to Favale, Griffin going North of the Border to play with the Raptors isn't much a stretch, though trading for the All-Star should be complicated and at the same time, risky.
In his trade proposal, Favale presented a four-team trade involving the Raptors, Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings and Charlotte Hornets.
It's going to be a multi-player with several moving parts, but its simplified form will have Griffin and Kosta Koufus going to the Raptors, Spencer Hawes, Paul Pierce and picks to Kings; Rudy Gay, Norman Powell, Jeremy Lamb and Cody Zeller to Clippers; and Patrick Patterson and Jonas Valanciunas to the Hornets.
It's a complicated deal all right. However, Favale thinks this proposed trade will benefit every team involved. The Raptors will finally have a legit low-post star to help their dynamic backcourt duo of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. The Clippers going young with Powell, Lamb and Zeller and at the same time getting a stretch four in Gay. The Kings acquiring highly coveted draft picks, and Hornets nabbing the center of the future in Valanciunas.
Favale admitted that it would require a huge leap of faith for the Clippers and Raptors to pull off this coup since Griffin can opt out of his deal and become a free-agent next summer. On the other hand, the writer stressed there no better trade to make out there for the four teams than this one.
Favale writes on Bleacher Report:
"Any hesitation related to this four-team blockbuster should originate in Los Angeles and/or Toronto. Do the Clippers sell this low on Griffin, knowing they'll have to pawn off other pieces to make room for all the new acquisitions? Do the Raptors give up two of their best trade assets, Powell and Valanciunas, for a flight risk like Griffin?
There are a lot of moving parts involved. But if the Clippers decide to get smaller and younger and the Raptors are still looking for another star to partner with DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, there's a mutual fit here."
Griffin, who is undoubtedly the centerpiece of this proposed trade, averaged 21.8 points and 8.4 rebounds over 35 games in a season marred with injury and suspensions.
