Blake Griffin trade rumors: 5 trade possible destinations

The small ball era of the Indiana Pacers hasn’t really taken off in its first years, as the Pacers are only 27-24 and in seventh place in the Eastern Conference. While it makes sense for Indiana to try to make the Eastern Conference Playoffs after missing on them by a game last year, they may want to consider making a trade to try to elevate this stock in the East for next season.

One trade that could be intriguing for the Pacers would be to send superstar small forward Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers for power forward Blake Griffin straight up. These are two former MVP finalists and could help each team’s biggest flaw if they were to swap places. Los Angeles needs help at small forward and Indiana needs an offensive presence in the frontcourt.

Los Angeles would be more willing to make this trade now than Indiana, as Griffin wouldn’t be able to play for the Pacers until around the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, assuming the Pacers can even get there.

However, if the Pacers were willing to look more at the longterm in this trade, they would emerge as a worthy adversary in the Central Division with Griffin on their team to potentially take down the Cleveland Cavaliers than they would be with George. Los Angeles would become a strong jump shooting team with George on their squad and might be better equipped to battle with the Pacific Division rival Golden State Warriors.

In all honesty, this is not a trade that should happen before this year’s NBA trade deadline, as sending George to the Clippers would certainly jeopardize the Pacers’ 2015-16 playoff chances as Griffin wouldn’t play until maybe the final weeks of the regular season. However, this deal could end up lifting both the Clippers and Pacers next year and beyond, as both teams need to shake it up to stay relevant in their respective conferences. This one-for-one trade could certainly do that.

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