In a complete shocker, the Los Angeles Clippers traded star power forward Blake Griffin to the Detroit Pistons on Monday for Avery Bradley, Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic and two draft picks. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN first reported the deal.
Reports came out early this morning that Detroit started shopping Bradley and his expiring contract around the league trying to find a deal for the two-way guard. Now the Pistons, who lost eight straight games entering the week, gain an All Star power forward and are just three games back of the eighth seed.
Griffin, whose career is marked by injuries and great numbers when healthy, lands in Detroit after one of the best recent stretches in his career. After he missed two games with a concussion in early January, Griffin returned to the court and dominated in his last nine games with the Clippers.
For as well as Griffin played, his contract and the injury risk raises significant questions. Griffin will make $31.87 million in 2018, $34 million in '19, $36.6 million in '20 and holds a $39 million player option in '21, according to Spotrac. For a player who missed time this season with a sprained MCL, broke his toe last season, underwent shoulder surgery in 2016 and missed time with a torn left quad and a broken hand, Detroit takes on a massive risk with his contract.
The pairing of Griffin and Andre Drummond in the Eastern Conference will cause fits for opposing teams. Drummond, who is experiencing a career season, should pair quite nicely with Griffin to give Detroit a duo who can work well together and create mismatches inside the three-point line. From a fantasy perspective, Griffin should remain the focal point scoring wise in Detroit, while Drummond can serve as a rebounding machine.
Detroit also received Brice Johnson and Willie Reed, who will provide depth off the bench. Detroit's first-round pick being sent to Los Angeles contains top-four protections in 2018, '19 and '20. If Detroit winds up with a top-four pick the next three seasons, then Los Angeles would receive an unprotected 2021 first-round pick per Wojnarowski. Los Angeles also receives the Pistons' 2018 second-round pick.
As for Los Angeles, this move signals a complete change for the franchise. The team sat just one game back of the Denver Nuggets for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. Now Griffin, an icon in the Clippers' history, is gone and the team's decision signals a complete focus on the future. Fantasy owners and Los Angeles fans should expect DeAndre Jordan and Lou Williams to be in different uniforms by the NBA Trade Deadline.
The arrival of Bradley gives Los Angeles a two-way guard who is familiar with Doc Rivers, his former head coach in Boston. Bradley, who averaged 15 points. 1.2 steals and 2.4 rebounds per game in Detroit, will struggle to find fantasy value sharing minutes with Austin Rivers. Bradley, 27, will be a free agent this offseason.
The 25-year-old Harris should slide into the Clippers' lineup immediately. He averaged over 32 minutes per game for the Pistons this season with 18.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. In Los Angeles, he should continue to see plenty of opportunities to shoot the ball and provide three-pointers made, rebounds and points going forward for fantasy owners. This move is a slight bump up in his fantasy value.
Marjanovic will serve as a backup center now, but Jordan should be traded soon. In that case, Marjanovic could become a fantasy sleeper with strong contributions on the boards and could rack up some double doubles.
In the end, this move represents a near teardown for Los Angeles. With the cornerstone gone and other major contributors likely on the way out, a memorable and enjoyable era for Clippers fans is over and is now followed by an uncertain future.