Expensive veterans not getting any younger
You could easily argue that any of the next five players are among the 50 best in the NBA, and probably much higher. For one reason or another though, they fall short of the top 50.
Here is, verbatim, what I had written about Blake before the news broke that he was traded to Detroit for Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanovic and a top-four protected 2018 first-rounder:
Quick: An alert just popped up on your phone that the team you root for has acquired Blake Griffin. It doesn’t show you any other details on the trade. Before knowing anything else about the deal, your gut reaction is:
- Wow! That’s…cool…I think. I mean, I’m sure we didn’t give up this year’s first or (recently drafted Player X who has shown some promise). Actually, maybe we did…hmm. Well, uh, that’s ok because Griffin is still really good…right? Right? (Thinking…) Boy I hope that pick has protections…
- Oh…I guess the Clippers decided to go for the rebuild after all. Smart move by them. Griffin at $35 million a year for the next four seasons isn’t terrible. The guy is still really good. I mean, I’m sure we didn’t give up anything decent for a dude with his injury concerns, probably just (large expiring salary of Player Y) and a heavily protected first. If it’s anything more than that I might kill myself.
- Why, God, WHYYYYYYYYYYY?????
None of these reactions are wrong. Which is why Griffin finds himself here.
Following the trade, Matt Moore (aka, Hardwood Paroxysm) who is as clued-in a basketball mind as there is, tweeted the following:
I rest my case.
It’s not his fault that he was offered the richest contract in NBA history at the time, or that he’s played in a loaded conference his entire career, or that the Grizzlies failed epically in surrounding him with a team that could at least stem the tide during his absence this season. Mike Conley is good.
Nonetheless, he’s still a very pricy 30-year -old point guard who’s out for the year on a team that needs to hit the reset button. If Memphis decided to make him available tomorrow, it’s unclear that anyone would be willing to give up real assets to acquire his services.
Mark Gasol
Another casualty of Memphis’ dive this year. His play has also slipped, and even though he could theoretically make the difference for a potential contender, no one would give up the type of assets the Grizzlies would be looking for to make a deal happen.
Ha! That was funny. Just making sure you were still paying attention.
This one is tough, especially since Andre Drummond (spoiler alert!) made the list, and the two players are comparable. On one hand, Whiteside is having arguably the best year of his career. On the other hand, he’s routinely getting pulled at the end of games in favor of rookie Bam Adebayo.
Ultimately, this comes down to a weak market for centers and a player who, while really good, doesn’t move the needle enough that someone is going to bowl over the Heat with an offer, especially with his price tag ($25 million nest season with a $27 million player option for 2019-20) and age (he turns 29 in June).
His name has been in trade rumors for two months. For the same reason that Gasol and Whiteside are here, Jordan falls just short. His free agency (would you opt out of a $24 million player option if you were Jordan?) will be fascinating.