Los Angeles Clippers Receive: F Blake Griffin and 2021 Second-Round Pick via Toronto
Detroit Pistons Receive: G Patrick Beverley, G Lou Williams, and F Marcus Morris
Whether or not the Pistons would be willing to trade Blake Griffin remains a major question mark, but the package they would receive for him from L.A. is not entirely terrible. The Pistons did everything they could to set themselves up for future success, but trading Griffin to the Clippers could help them reach that success sooner than imagined.
Griffin is owed $36.5 million this upcoming season and in order for the Clippers to have three max contracts on their roster, they would need to trade their three biggest contracts outside of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.
Patrick Beverley is one of the better defensive point guards in the league and could be an excellent mentor to some of the young guards in Detroit. The same goes for Lou Williams in being a mentor, except he is an offensive juggernaut off the bench. The three-time Sixth Man of the Year averaged 18.2 points, 5.6 assists, and shot 41.8% from the floor last year for the Clippers and could provide immediate scoring for the Pistons.
Marcus Morris Sr. played with the Pistons from 2015-2017 and was a great scorer for them then. Acquiring these three guys could contribute to a lot of winning for the Pistons this season and potentially make them a team that is in the playoff hunt in the Eastern Conference late in the year.
While it does not seem like the Pistons are getting fair value for Griffin in this trade, they are getting a lot of options on how to build their team moving forward. All three veteran guys that they would be getting in exchange for Griffin have value on the trade market and could all be flipped to acquire picks over the years.
The Clippers do not have any first-round picks to offer the Pistons in this trade, which is why it would likely be a three-team deal if something like this was to happen.
Let’s take a closer look at this trade and why it would make sense for both the Clippers and the Pistons.
