What’s next for the Clippers after trading Blake Griffin?

The first blockbuster of the 2018 trade deadline dropped on Monday afternoon, when the Clippers traded star big man Blake Griffin to Detroit, along with Brice Johnson and Willie Reed, in exchange for Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanovic, and two future draft picks. You can read The Step Back’s official Pistons analysis from Jared Dubin, so we’ll focus on the Clippers’ side of things here.

It’s easy to say the Clippers lost the trade because they just shipped out their best player for a trio of merely useful rotation pieces. Star power wins out in the NBA and Los Angeles just gave up their one star in exchange for a few months of Bradley, a year and a half of Harris, and a first-round pick — the second-rounder and Marjanovic basically equal out to zero net value when his contract is taken into consideration. Griffin was signed up for four more years after this one, so how could the Clippers have gotten a good deal here?

Immediately upon signing that massive contract in the offseason, there was speculation that the Clippers had just signed an over-the-hill big man who had previously relied so heavily on his athleticism that he wouldn’t be able to adapt to the modern NBA. To his credit, Griffin has developed his outside shot and playmaking ability far beyond what anybody projected for him when he was dunking on the entire league in the early 2010s, but his injury concerns and that contract made him one of the largest risks taken last summer.

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Getting quality assets for Griffin dumps that risk on Detroit and kickstarts the rebuilding process Los Angeles has previously eschewed, even when Chris Paul forced his move to the Houston Rockets just before Griffin was signed to his new contract. Their short-term trash will be long-term treasure, though the final tally of their rebuilding efforts won’t be known until a few more dominoes fall before Feb. 8, namely DeAndre Jordan and Lou Williams, who might net more first-round picks for a franchise that has ignored the draft for years. They do owe a 2019 first-round pick to Boston (lottery protected) but have all their other firsts, this one from Detroit, plus any others they can pick up in trades for Jordan and Williams.

If the Clippers don’t find suitable deals for their pair of high-profile expiring contracts, it’s not impossible to imagine the team continuing to contend for a low-end playoff spot in the Western Conference. Harris and Bradley aren’t Blake Griffin, but they fill necessary holes on the wing for Los Angeles. Harris’s ability to swing between the 3 and 4, which will allow Doc Rivers to go small or big depending on matchups, will be a boon for a Clippers team aching for depth on the wing with Danilo Gallinari continuously sidelined this season.

Bradley actually fits well next to Williams as a tenacious defender who can take the opposing team’s point guard and move Williams to an off-ball role, though his defense has fallen off a bit this season and there’s some question as to whether his stopper reputation is as accurate as it has been in previous years. Bradley also tends to overplay his abilities offensively, a trait that hasn’t been reined in by Brad Stevens nor Stan Van Gundy, so it’s improbable that Rivers will be the one to get through to him in their second stint together. Bradley’s value is also limited by his contract; he’ll need a new deal this summer and while there isn’t a ton of money out there, there will still be a bidding war for his services as a 3-and-D wing who can do a few other things offensively (though he certainly could stand to commit fewer turnovers and shoot fewer mid-range jumpers).

The tax implications this season are also a plus for Los Angeles, as they’re in the repeater tax this year based on previous spending but ducked just under the $119.3 million tax line with this move. They now have $629,032 in space below the tax, enough to sign any minimum guy for the rest of the season without dipping back into the tax. Two-way players C.J. Williams and Tyrone Wallace will certainly compete for that final roster spot, though more spots may open up in the next week and a half as further moves warrant. Even if their roster stays as is, the Clippers could hold onto that space below the tax for a buyout guy later on in the season, especially if their new-look team has them in the playoff hunt.

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Long-term, the real prize is the first-round pick, which will give the Clippers a second bite at this year’s lottery (unless Detroit can overcome large odds to make the playoffs), and the massive savings on their cap and in Steve Ballmer’s wallet as a result of offloading Griffin’s contract. Armed with a host of short-term contracts, the Clippers will now be big players in 2019 and 2020 free agency, just as their Staples Center neighbors intend to be this summer. The Clippers don’t have the same history the Lakers do, but with an owner willing to spend, promises of a shiny new arena, and living in Los Angeles, they’ll still be plenty attractive to free agents when it comes time for those meetings.