NBA Free Agency 2017: 20 best players available
By John Buhler
Blake Griffin
Power Forward, Los Angeles Clippers
The one team to watch this free agency cycle has to be the Los Angeles Clippers. Three of their four best players will likely be hitting unrestricted free agency. Shooting guard J.J. Redick will certainly be a free agent. He’s become too expensive to not command an eight-figure salary from the Clippers. Look for him to be playing East next fall.
There are two other guys of note to watch with the Clippers. Both of their superstars have early termination options they can exercise this summer. The first guy we’ll talk about is power forward Blake Griffin. When healthy, Griffin is an MVP level player for the Clippers. The problem is he’s never healthy.
Griffin has earned every penny he has ever made with the Clippers. He is the face of the best era of franchise history. Nobody puts random Angelinos in seats to watch Clippers games than Griffin. In seven seasons with Los Angeles, Griffin has made five All-Star teams, four All-NBA teams, averaging 21.5 points, 9.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists.
Los Angeles will do what it takes to bring him back. However, we could see Griffin speak with teams like the Boston Celtics, the Miami Heat and even his hometown Oklahoma City Thunder this summer. It’s starting to sink in that Griffin might leave the Clippers. If he goes East, the conference gets all the more powerful.