Blake Griffin: 5 potential landing spots in free agency
2. Boston Celtics
Turning his back on the Clippers would require quite a bit of sacrifice on Blake Griffin’s part, but if leaving behind a cursed franchise and playing for a legitimate title contender take precedence, the Boston Celtics are the most logical free agency fit.
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The Celtics are a top free agency destination for Gordon Hayward, but the truth is they already have a solid 3-and-D wing on a very team-friendly contract in Jae Crowder. Boston’s biggest need is at the 4, which is where Griffin could easily slide right in to vault this team to legitimate contender status.
In the process, Danny Ainge would finally get his star attraction to pair with Isaiah Thomas, while also enjoying the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft and the internal growth of players like Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart.
With Al Horford being in his early 30s, this team’s window to contend is now. Signing Blake Griffin would be an all-in move that addresses the team’s greatest positional need, and the Celtics could create the cap room to get it done if they renounced all their pending free agents (except I.T.), waived a few players on non-guaranteed deals and Griffin took a deal slightly below the max.
Blake Griffin might choose the money and the comforts of L.A. over Boston, but if contending for a championship is the No. 1 priority on his free agency list, few destinations can offer him what the Celtics can in the East.