Carmelo Anthony For Blake Griffin: Who Says No To A Trade?
Carmelo Anthony. Blake Griffin. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
Just a few years ago, both of these men were Top 15 players, leading their respective teams into the playoffs with hopes of bigger things to come.
With Anthony, he was hoping to lead the Knicks beyond the first round. I admit that’s not really aiming for the stars, but that’s what you get with Anthony.
As for Griffin, many were saying that it was now his team and that his running mate, Chris Paul, had to take a back seat. Seems pretty laughable now, doesn’t it?
Now we’re here, in 2017, where management for both the Knicks and Clippers are teetering on that thin line, debating whether or not to trade their respective star player, although for vastly different reasons.
Anthony should want to get out of New York. He’s 32 and not getting any younger. He can’t carry a team anymore and he’s unlikely to win a title here. Plus, team president Phil Jackson has allegedly tried to convince Anthony to waive his no-trade clause so that he could trade him.
It’s never a good sign when management wants you gone, and that’s rumored to be true in this situation.
Blake Griffin is a little different. While he’s only 27 years old, Griffin has missed his share of games due to injury and the Clippers have played surprisingly well in his absence. Plus, he’s a pending free agent and I doubt the Clippers want to risk losing their star player for nothing.
One also has to realize that the Clippers’ Big Three of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan hasn’t been very successful. They’ve never reached the Conference Finals and injuries could prevent them from doing so in 2017.
Both men have an injury history. Both men haven’t been very successful with their current teams. Both teams could use the other’s star player. The answer is simple: Flip them for each other, and everyone walks home happy.
Right now, the Knicks are using their Unicorn all wrong. Kristaps Porzingis has been playing the power forward position since he was drafted. He should be slotted at center.
He’d stretch the floor and pull opposing shot-blockers away from the rim. He can switch onto perimeter players. He can protect the rim better than what Joakim Noah is doing right now.
He’s also 7’3″, which never hurts to mention.
If you slide Porzingis to the 5, there aren’t many better players to slot next to him than Griffin. Combining the two would make for a lethal combo. They don’t lose any floor spacing because Porzingis can stretch a defense all the way out to the 3-point line, while Griffin has a vastly improved jumper.
Griffin is an excellent ball-handler and passer for a big man, and if coach Jeff Hornacek wants to get creative, then he can run a Griffin-Porzingis pick and roll.
Talk about deadly.
Griffin isn’t a great defender, but it’s not as though Anthony has been, either. What you’re getting in Griffin is someone who, if healthy, and I admit that’s a big if, can be a force in the paint while complementing the Knicks’ young star.
Ideally, you’d also like the Clippers to take on Joakim Noah’s contract. Getting rid of it would give the Knicks more cap space to go after young talent, and it would allow Porzingis to play the 5 without creating a log jam on the bench.
The Knicks already have two serviceable backup big men in Kyle O’Quinn and Willy Hernangomez. I don’t think they’d want a guy getting paid 72 million to come off the bench, especially when they already have depth at that position.
The only way for the Knicks to unload Noah to LA would be if the Clippers would send the Knicks Austin Rivers and Jamal Crawford in return. That’s the only way the salaries would match up. I don’t think the Clippers would want to get rid of two very capable backup guards in return for someone like Noah.
Now onto the Clippers.
It’s well-documented how well the Clippers play without Griffin. Without him, they’re able to space the floor with a shooter at the power forward slot, which gives Chris Paul more room to operate, and DeAndre Jordan more space as he dives to the basket off a screen and roll.
Last year the Clippers posted a 31-16 record in games that Griffin didn’t play. Pretty shocking that a team could play that well without their secondbest player.
Now, you’re probably wondering why the Clippers would trade a 27-year-old for a 32-year-old. That’s an extra five years you can get with Griffin as opposed to Anthony.
It’s simple math.
The only issue is that Griffin hasn’t shown the ability to be the best player on a championship team, and that matters for a team whose best player is 31 years old. The Clippers’ championship window is only open for as long as Chris Paul is still in their uniform.
Paul is their best player and their leader. Without him, they aren’t contending for a title. So it doesn’t matter how young Griffin is; the Clippers need to go all-in right now while Paul is still playing at an elite level.
This team needs guys who are going to help them win now, not someone who can maybe lead the team in five years. Seeing as how they are pretty successful playing the 4 out 1 in style of basketball that so many teams are playing, why not get a guy who can actually space the floor?
Granted, Anthony is only getting traded if he wants to be. Phil Jackson gave him a no-trade clause in his last contract, so Anthony will decide where he plays. At the same time, I don’t know why he wouldn’t want to go play with the Clippers.
During his time with the Olympic squad, Anthony has always thrived playing off the ball, and that’s something he would get to do playing alongside Paul. He wouldn’t have to work as hard for his shots.
Most of the time, he would only need to spot up and wait for the basketball to come to him.
And if Paul is feeling a little winded at the end of a close game, he can just give the ball to Anthony and he’ll bring it home. ‘Melo will be fresh at the end of game due to the fact that he won’t have the ball in his hands all the time.
The chemistry is something that would be there from the start. Anthony and Paul are close friends, and Anthony played with Jordan this past summer in the Rio Olympics.
Adding Carmelo Anthony would push this squad into the new era of basketball, and would give them a better chance of advancing deep into the playoffs.
This deal works for both teams.
The Knicks don’t necessarily need Griffin. This trade is more about what the Clippers need and what the Knicks have to give them.
Adding Griffin to the Knicks is more about getting rid of Anthony. It’s time to move on from the 32-year-old forward.
Ideally, the Knicks would like to get a package of young players and picks, but no team is going to give that up for Anthony. Blake Griffin is as good as it’s going to get.
This trade needs to happen. It’s one of the rare trades that benefits both sides pretty equally.
The Clippers have been given the formula to succeed, and if they don’t acknowledge and embrace it, they’ll never reach the NBA Finals, let alone the Conference Finals.
For the Knicks, this is their chance. This is their chance to start fresh; a chance to move on from the Anthony era and start anew with Porzingis as the official face of the franchise.
Again, Griffin is not the ideal trade piece when dealing Carmelo Anthony. You’d like a guy whose timeline fits in a little better with Porzingis. If the Knicks wanted picks, they should’ve traded him a long time ago.
But Griffin is still in his prime and people seem to forget his talent level despite him averaging 20.9 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game.
Doc Rivers needs to call Phil Jackson and work out this deal. The Clippers are in win now mode, and this trade helps them win now. Whereas the Knicks need to build for the future.
Pairing a 32-year-old with a 31-year-old makes a lot more sense than pairing a 31-year-old with a 27-year-old.
And pairing that same 27-year-old with a 21-year-old makes way more sense than pairing that 21-year old with a 32-year-old. It’s just simple math.
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