The rebuild in Los Angeles has officially begun.
Six months after the Chris Paul trade to Houston, Blake Griffin was traded to the Detroit Pistons for Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley and Boban Marjanovic on Monday, according Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
The Clippers and Pistons have agreed on a deal to trade Blake Griffin for Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanovic, a first-round and a second-round draft pick, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 29, 2018
The trade is a win-now move for the Pistons, who are pairing Griffin with young, standout center Andre Drummond. The Pistons (22-26) are currently on the fringes of the Eastern Conference playoff picture, and sit three games behind the Philadelphia 76ers for the eighth and final playoff spot.
Griffin, 28, was drafted by the Clippers with the first overall pick in 2008, and made five All-Star teams during his tenure. Injuries have largely defined Griffin’s career –he hasn’t played in 70 games since the ’13-’14 — but is having a nice season thusfar, averaging 22.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game in 2017.
The Clippers (25-24) have struggled with injuries all season, and gain some much needed depth in the trade, but also have an outside chance of making the playoffs, sitting just a game behind the Nuggets for the eighth and final spot.