NBA Rumors: Buzz on Blake Griffin and C.J. Wilcox Trades
Now that the dust from the 2016 free-agency storm has mostly settled and summer-league play is keeping teams busy evaluating their respective youth contingents, the NBA rumor mill is no longer the frenzy of activity it was even a few short weeks ago.
There is still some chatter going around, mostly revolving around trades. The latest and greatest buzz involves the Boston Celtics, a young team with plenty of assets, a smart, young head coach in Brad Stevens and room to grow in the Eastern Conference.
According to Sporting News' Sean Deveney, the Celtics are "up to something," with that something potentially being a trade for Los Angeles Clippers superstar Blake Griffin:
"The likely target for the Celtics, according to front-office sources, is Clippers forward Blake Griffin. The Clippers have been weighing trading Griffin all season, and the possibility of a three-team package involving Sacramento sending Rudy Gay to the Clippers has emerged. The Celtics would give up some number of their upcoming draft picks, but opposing front-office members say they don't want to give up either Brooklyn pick Boston can own in the next two years.
"
It's easy to see the Celtics' motivation, as sacrificing picks and a couple of young players for a talent like Griffin could push them into the uppermost tier of Eastern Conference teams.
They've already added a great veteran center in Al Horford through free agency and have an intelligent, kinetic floor general in Isaiah Thomas. Throw Griffin into the mix, and you have the makings of a successful triumvirate akin to what the Clippers have right now with Griffin, Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan.
However, it seems highly unlikely the Clippers would trade away Griffin, a 27-year-old with two years left on his contract, and accept Rudy Gay as the main return. Gay is two years older than Griffin and saw his offensive production drop off last season in several categories.
The Big Lead's Jason McIntyre doesn't think the Clippers should trade Griffin:
According to a source for the Orange County Register's Dan Woike, the rumors may be nothing more than idle chatter:
The move as described above would also leave the Clippers with a potential glut at small forward (Gay, Paul Pierce, Wesley Johnson and Branden Dawson) while perhaps starting Luc Richard Mbah a Moute at power forward (3.1 points in 17.0 minutes per game last season). This at a time when the Western Conference is still highly competitive at the top.
Since it seems too early to blow up the Clippers with Paul, Jordan, Jamal Crawford and other competitive players in the fold, any Griffin trade would likely have to somehow leave them better equipped to compete in the short term. That trade probably isn't out there, even with the Celtics and all of their young talent.
Though a Griffin trade seems doubtful, the Clippers are seemingly on the verge of making a different deal. According to the Los Angeles Times' Brad Turner, C.J. Wilcox could be on his way to the Orlando Magic:
This isn't the most appealing of rumors, but it could turn out to be a prudent move financially, per ClipsNation.com's Lucas Hann:
"So, how does the Wilcox trade help? Well, Wilcox's outgoing salary is $1,209,600, and Devyn Marble's incoming salary is $980,431. That's already savings of $225,000 in salary payments and over $500,000 in tax penalties--not bad. However, Marble's salary doesn't become guaranteed until July 15th--that means that if the Clippers complete this trade and cut Marble immediately, they'll owe him nothing, reducing that $980,431 cap hit to $0, and opening up a roster spot.
"
While the Clippers would presumably gain greater flexibility by completing the trade, they could also be doing Wilcox a favor. The 25-year-old shooting guard hasn't found much playing time behind Crawford and JJ Redick in his two seasons in the NBA. Last year, Wilcox averaged a measly 3.0 points in 7.3 minutes per game.
He would seemingly stand a better chance with the Magic, competing with Mario Hezonja for a backup role behind Evan Fournier. Wilcox has shot 38.1 percent from three-point range in his career.
It's a small sample size, to be sure, but it could be appealing for a Magic squad that ranked 15th in the league last season in three-point shooting percentage.
