Blake Griffin was supposed to be the one to lift the Los Angeles Clippers out of irrelevancy, and he did just that. Griffin, the no. 1 pick of the 2009 NBA Draft, dazzled fans with his insane athleticism, but at the end of the day, his tenure with the team always left you wanting more.
Even with Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan being by his side, Griffin was never able to lead the Clippers past the heavyweights in the Western Conference. By 2017, it was clear that the Clippers’ window had closed, so they traded away Paul but still signed Griffin to a max contract after that, only to trade him away as well in January of 2018. Patrick Beverley had arrived from the Houston Rockets in that Paul trade, and on the Pat Bev podcast, he was asked about how Griffin behaved when he joined the Clippers.
“That’s an interesting question. Chris Paul was gone, Blake Griffin just signed a massive deal. We in training camp first day, big ass argument (between) Blake Griffin and Doc Rivers. ‘Not having that sh** this year Doc.’ So from day one, I’m like damn okay. Coming down the court, throw that bish to Blake, couldn’t get it to him at the angle that he wanted. He (said) ‘Give me the f*cking ball.’ I’m a pro, We get into the locker room and I’m like ‘Hey man, you ain’t got to talk to me like that… L.A. is a very different city to be big time in.”
That is certainly not how you want your superstar to behave, but it was clear that there was a lot of tension in the building at the time. Griffin also probably felt quite empowered after getting that big deal, but the Clippers pulled the rug from underneath him when they shipped him off to the Detroit Pistons.
Chris Paul Remembered The Lob City Clippers
Paul was recently talking about his time with the Clippers and admitted that he appreciated Griffin a lot more after leaving. He spoke fondly of their time together on the court , and if the two had gotten along better those days, maybe the team could have had more success.
Matt Barnes, who was on that team, previously stated that there was definitely a disconnect between their Big 3, and that is not ideal when the goal is to win a championship. You don’t need everybody to be the best of friends, but you can’t have a disconnect that ultimately played a role in their downfall.
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