Detroit Pistons: Will the Blake Griffin experiment work?

The Detroit Pistons believe the rewards of bringing Blake Griffin to Detroit outweigh the risks. Are they right?

Every city has it. That unique element that sums up the team’s identity in one word or phrase. For the Detroit Pistons, it’s “Deeetroit Basketbaaaall.”

Unfortunately, Deeetroit Basketball isn’t always synonymous with winning. Often, it also means: Here we go again, Are you serious right now? and You gave up WHAT for WHO?

When the Los Angeles Clippers traded Blake Griffin to the Pistons, the news shocked almost everyone.

While people wrapped their head around the trade of Griffin to Motown for Avery Bradley and Tobias Harris, the reactions became Twitter gold. From the disbelief of NBA experts to Griffin’s own response delivered in GIF form, opinions ran the gamut.

After taking the night to process the unexpected trade, Griffin returned to Twitter ready to move on in Detroit with Andre Drummond.

As HoopsHabit‘s own Gerald Bourguet laid out, the blockbuster deal is an attempt to bolster Detroit’s roster for a playoff run, while the Clippers are slamming the reset button and will look to deal DeAndre Jordan and Lou Williams in the coming days.

Griffin’s trade comes just months (212 days) after signing a five-year, $173 million contract extension.

People are asking two questions about the trade: Can Blake Griffin help the Pistons make a run, and does Stan Van Gundy still have more moves up his sleeve?

Here’s why this trade works for Detroit, and also why it’s leaving fans scratching their heads.