Chris Paul and Blake Griffin (Photo : Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)
The NBA trade rumors will hound the Los Angeles Clippers even more with Chris Paul's injury.
This could be their last ride as both Blake Griffin and Chris Paul will approach free agency at different points of their careers. Paul has probably lost his best years while Blake can probably survive another rebuild. The Clippers is still an option, but they would hardly have any cap space left to improve the roster.
What compounds this dilemma is that none of the veteran, title-chasing free agents would consider the Clippers as a destination in the same breath as the Golden State Warriors or San Antonio Spurs. Paul might even be a title-chaser himself if his latest injury would scare him enough.
All things considered, should Doc Rivers trade his currently injured prize player (that's Griffin, not Paul) to somehow salvage the season because losing both Paul and Griffin is too much to overcome?
In a piece by Nathaniel Friedman of GQ, he presented that "this recent spate of ill fortune might be just the push he (Doc Rivers) needs to move Blake, get back massive value in return, and start off in a new direction that jolts them out of their rut."
Friedman rides with the proposal to trade Griffin for Carmelo Anthony straight up while admitting that the Knicks have an urgency to trade Melo, but trading Griffin "does not present itself as an inevitability in quite the same way" and would only be done to "shake things up."
It's unlikely that Rivers would initiate this trade, Paul's injury notwithstanding. This is the line of argument that Forbes contributor Mitch Lawrence presented.
"When Griffin does return, most NBA observers believe that the Clips will want to continue their playoff push, effectively eliminating him from a trade as he nears free agency in July. All along, as questions swirl as to whether this is the last rodeo for Paul and Griffin in Clipper-land, the Clips have expressed a desire to keep Paul and Griffin, rather than break up their team," Lawrence stated.
In other words, the Clippers may not win the championship this year, but where could Griffin go that could be better than the Clippers? Also, if this will be their last run, better to lose rather than be known as the team that simply gave up.
Lawrence also visited the Carmelo Anthony road, but since Melo has a no-trade clause, it would not be as simple as Friedman thinks.
