Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times
Blake Griffin Finally Reveals Details About Trade From Clippers
One of the most unexpected NBA trades in recent years, was the LA Clippers shipping their franchise player Blake Griffin to the Detroit Pistons just months after convincing him to sign a 5-year extension. According to Blake, the trade was just as shocking to him as it was to everyone else.
In a recent interview with Graham Bensinger, Blake Griffin sat down to discuss a multitude of topics, with one being his departure from the Clippers. When asked how he felt about being traded just month after the team convinced him to stay long-term, Blake said, "I understand for sure through a business point of view, I completely understand. A team wants to go a certain way, they had a plan that they wanted to win a championship very quickly, and they didn't think that was gonna happen with me there."
While Blake understood the business side of the deal, he also expressed some disappointment with the way it went down. On the details of the trade, Blake said that "The only thing is we wish they would have gone about it in a different way. The respect of letting your agent know, so hopefully both parties can work out a deal that they both want." According to Blake, this did not happen. Instead, he claims he found out from a friend who told him a trade could be on the way. Upon hearing this, Blake called his agent who then tried contacting the Clippers, but they did not answer his call.
After not hearing anything from the Clippers, Blake said he was already planning on heading to the team's facility to lift. When he got there, Blake called the general manager who again did not take his call. After not hearing anything for about an hour, Blake says he went upstairs to check what was going on.
On what happened once he got up there, Blake said, "I'll never forget that conversation." According to Blake, he first encountered Lawrence Frank's assistant, who went and retrieved Lawrence at Blake's request. Blake says the two of them then stood there in a moment fo awkwardness for a good 20 seconds before Lawrence brought Blake into his office.
When they got in there, Blake asked Lawrence what was going on, and according to Blake, Frank started by saying, "You know, a player of your caliber" in which Blake cut him off and said, "L, come on, I don't need all that, I just want to know." Blake then left his office and got the tweet notification from Adrian Wojnarowski on his drive home that he had been dealt to the Detroit Pistons.
Blake ended his story about the trade by again reiterating that he completely understands the business side, but it was just difficult to deal with considering the details of how it went down.
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