NBA Trade Grades: Clippers deal Blake Griffin to Pistons
Detroit Pistons
Say what you want about Stan Van Gundy, but he just snagged a superstar for Tobias Harris, an expiring Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanovic and a first round draft pick. That’s a pretty great return, even with wing depth becoming an immediate concern for Detroit.
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While it’s unfortunate the Pistons renounced the rights to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope last summer just so they could trade for Bradley, only to wheel and deal him just six months later, getting a star of Griffin’s caliber for the next four and a half seasons is a pretty good score, even with the injury concerns.
This creates a potential star-studded partnership in the frontcourt between him and Andre Drummond. Though Griffin’s 34.2 percent shooting on 5.7 long range attempts per game means there will be spacing issues, the passing ability of these two bigs should help mitigate some of them. After all, he and DeAndre Jordan, a center with a similar skill-set, have thrived for quite some time.
With the Pistons losing eight straight games and 12 of their last 15 since Reggie Jackson went down, this move is meant to jumpstart the team’s playoff aspirations. Reed simply replaces Boban as a backup big, Johnson is a throw-in and Griffin is obviously meant to be the lone savior.
Unfortunately, the deal — while a good one in an of itself — leaves Detroit in severe need of depth. Their starting wings are gone, putting a ton of pressure on youngsters like Luke Kennard and Stanley Johnson to produce.
Stanley Johnson looked bad on Saturday. PG-13 took him to school all game. Kennard still is very raw, especially on defense. Big pressure on those guys now.
— Michael Gallagher (@MikeSGallagher) January 29, 2018
Even worse, this trade does nothing to address the team’s biggest need at point guard. With Jackson still sidelined and both Ish Smith and Langston Galloway failing to fill that gaping hole, Detroit will heavily lean on Griffin and Drummond’s playmaking in the frontcourt.
Having two stars locked in for the long-term is a great place to start, and since Van Gundy has no time or patience for rebuilds, that first round pick was always going to be the cost of doing business to upgrade the roster. Bradley most likely would’ve walked anyway, so while losing Harris in the middle of a career year hurts, it’s worth it to acquire a star of Griffin’s caliber.
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However, there’s a very obvious warning sign attached to this deal, and it’s Griffin’s age and injury history. SVG’s dedication to making the playoffs notwithstanding, this move could look very bad a few years down the road if he’s unable to stay healthy. The pressure is on to put a quality supporting cast around the Griffin-Drummond tandem before their primes run out.
Grade: B