NBA Rumors: Blake Griffin confident he’ll re-sign with Clippers
By John Buhler
Entering the final year of his contract, Los Angeles Clippers power forward Blake Griffin feels confident that he will end up re-signing with Los Angeles.
According to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, people who are close to Los Angeles Clippers power forward Blake Griffin “have been adamant that he is planning to re-sign in L.A. and that he’s not open to going anywhere.”
Griffin and All-NBA teammate, point guard Chris Paul, have the option to opt out of their current deals with the Clippers in summer 2017. Shooting guard J.J. Redick will also enter 2017 NBA free agency as an unrestricted free agent.
Clippers head coach and general manager Doc Rivers remains steadfast on keeping his corps together, as he feels that Los Angeles is only a few lucky breaks away from being a Western Conference Championship contender.
Though it would make sense for Griffin to opt out and re-up with the Clippers next summer, his camp is probably echoing this sentiment to appease Rivers so that Griffin will not be traded midseason in 2016-17.
While it would be very tough for Griffin to leave a great situation in Los Angeles as one of the Clippers’ best players, one team he has understandably been linked to is the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Griffin starred in college in nearby Norman for the Oklahoma Sooners before going No. 1 overall to the Clippers back in 2009. He could form a great tandem with Thunder star point guard Russell Westbrook, who just signed a three-year extension to stay in Oklahoma City.
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To be fair, Griffin could very likely re-up with the Clippers on another big deal in his late 20s, but at this time it seems like he is trying to play both sides of the coin entering a contract year. He could honor his word and stay in Los Angeles, but it feels like he’s putting out the vibe that he has no interest in being traded this winter whatsoever.