Blake Griffin announces retirement

[Dynamix]

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This was already posted elsewhere, but felt like it deserved a separate thread.

Still remember browsing YouTube and seeing his dunk on Mozgov, which instantly made me a fan of the NBA and Clippers.

I don't care how many voice calls it takes and what bridges have to be mended, his jersey should be the first one retired in the new arena.

[clipperlover]

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This was already posted elsewhere, but felt like it deserved a separate thread.

Still remember browsing YouTube and seeing his dunk on Mozgov, which instantly made me a fan of the NBA and Clippers.

I don't care how many voice calls it takes and what bridges have to be mended, his jersey should be the first one retired in the new arena.

I loved Blake and would have preferred they didn't make the nut puncher trade. I would have rather seen Blake take over as Batman rather than be forced to the Robin role when he wanted to be Batman. A power struggle that kept the team from reaching its potential. Blake never developed defensively the way he should have. His first year on the court you could see he was ready to take over and also had the tools to be an elite defender.

The problem is Neil Olshey was trying to get paid and didn't have time to let Griffin, Jordan, Gordon and Bledsoe develop. He traded for Nut puncher instead of Andre Igoudala who would have been a much better long term fit.

That said, no way Blake, or Nut Puncher should ever be hung in the rafters. They didn't make it any further in the playoffs than the Sam Cassell/Elton Brand Clippers. The 2005-2006 team dominated the Nuggets in round 1 and then took Phoenix to 7. A stupid 8 second call on Sam Cassell accompanied with that ridiculous Raja Bell shot kept us from going up 3-2 in that series.

If we are looking at accomplishments, PG has led us to a Conference Finals and had as many playoff series wins in his 1st 2 seasons (3) as the Lob City era had in its existence. Any banner hanging in Intuit would have to start with PG.

[esqtvd]

I wasn't a huge Blake fan but he should probably be the first number retired.

The Clippers sent me a survey and I answered Randy Smith, the franchise's all-time leading scorer. My second choice is Ralph Lawler. But Blake was here before CP3, and unlike Chris, did not leave the club of his own volition.


Points
1. Randy Smith 12735
2. Blake Griffin 10863
3. Bob McAdoo* 9434
4. Elton Brand 9336
5. Corey Maggette 8835
6. Chris Paul 7674
7. Danny Manning 7120
8. DeAndre Jordan 7078
9. Loy Vaught 6614
10. Ken Norman 6432

Total Rebounds
1. DeAndre Jordan 7988
2. Elton Brand 4710
3. Blake Griffin 4686
4. Loy Vaught 4471
5. Bob McAdoo* 4229
6. Swen Nater 4168
7. Chris Kaman 4109
8. Benoit Benjamin 3538
9. Ivica Zubac 3288
10. Randy Smith 2985

Assists
1. Chris Paul 4023
2. Randy Smith 3498
3. Gary Grant 2810
4. Norm Nixon 2540
5. Blake Griffin 2133
6. Ron Harper 1463
7. Ernie DiGregorio 1457
8. Mark Jackson 1402
9. Baron Davis 1398
10. Pooh Richardson 1397

Steals
1. Randy Smith 1072
2. Chris Paul 902
3. Gary Grant 747
4. Ron Harper 606
5. Danny Manning 548
6. Blake Griffin 484
7. Loy Vaught 468
8. DeAndre Jordan 448
9. Elton Brand 438
10. Corey Maggette 421

[Roscoe Sheed]

I would definitely support the Clippers retiring Blake's #- true, they only went as far as the Brand-Cassell Clippers, but Brand left on his own accord and kind of stabbed them in the back. Blake was a loyal Clipper and perhaps they could have made the conference finals or better if both he and CP3 were able to stay healthy

[clipperlover]

I wasn't a huge Blake fan but he should probably be the first number retired.

The Clippers sent me a survey and I answered Randy Smith, the franchise's all-time leading scorer. My second choice is Ralph Lawler. But Blake was here before CP3, and unlike Chris, did not leave the club of his own volition.

Actually, Ralph should be the only choice. No one did more.

[Roscoe Sheed]

I wasn't a huge Blake fan but he should probably be the first number retired.

The Clippers sent me a survey and I answered Randy Smith, the franchise's all-time leading scorer. My second choice is Ralph Lawler. But Blake was here before CP3, and unlike Chris, did not leave the club of his own volition.

Actually, Ralph should be the only choice. No one did more.

of course, Ralph deserves a statue and his microphone retired- he is the all time greatest professional associated with the Clippers for sure

[og15]

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This was already posted elsewhere, but felt like it deserved a separate thread.

Still remember browsing YouTube and seeing his dunk on Mozgov, which instantly made me a fan of the NBA and Clippers.

I don't care how many voice calls it takes and what bridges have to be mended, his jersey should be the first one retired in the new arena.

I loved Blake and would have preferred they didn't make the nut puncher trade. I would have rather seen Blake take over as Batman rather than be forced to the Robin role when he wanted to be Batman. A power struggle that kept the team from reaching its potential. Blake never developed defensively the way he should have. His first year on the court you could see he was ready to take over and also had the tools to be an elite defender.

The problem is Neil Olshey was trying to get paid and didn't have time to let Griffin, Jordan, Gordon and Bledsoe develop. He traded for Nut puncher instead of Andre Igoudala who would have been a much better long term fit.

That said, no way Blake, or Nut Puncher should ever be hung in the rafters. They didn't make it any further in the playoffs than the Sam Cassell/Elton Brand Clippers. The 2005-2006 team dominated the Nuggets in round 1 and then took Phoenix to 7. A stupid 8 second call on Sam Cassell accompanied with that ridiculous Raja Bell shot kept us from going up 3-2 in that series.

If we are looking at accomplishments, PG has led us to a Conference Finals and had as many playoff series wins in his 1st 2 seasons (3) as the Lob City era had in its existence. Any banner hanging in Intuit would have to start with PG.

Elite defender was not in the path for Blake. Short arms, didn't have any sort of elite defensive instincts, good motor, but not enough for top level effort on both ends. I'm not sure how he would have propelled himself to an elite defender at the NBA level, that's just a very rose colored revisionist history. I suppose he could if he did less on offense.

Blake had a short peak and too many injuries. You simply don't have sustained post-season success in the NBA of you are injured so much, and his body just didn't hold up well enough, which isn't something he could have done much about.

Here are the post-seasons Blake suffered a serious or season ending injury:
2013
2016
2017

The Clippers made the playoffs with him in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017. 6 seasons. Blake suffered a significant or season ending injury in 3/6. His last season they were 17-16 before he got traded, and Lou Williams had usurped his short lived role as the teams "guy" and closer, but even if he stayed, it would have been like 2 years of decent health after the contract before he broke down.

He went to Detroit, has one All-Star season where he was injured in the playoffs and that was the end of his star level career. Not everyone's body can survive a long healthy professional sports career. Despite being built like a LeBron, Blake did not have the durability of a LeBron (who does?). Due to that's there's no magic outside of giving him a less injury prone body that would have made his career any more successful than it was.

Bledsoe/Gordon/Blake/DJ would have been a nice team, but more like a 2nd round ceiling team. By the time you pay everyone your capped out. You would have Bledsoe who played 43, 81, 31, 66 games his next 4 seasons with Phoenix and Gordon who played 9, 42, 64, 61, 65, 75 his next 5 seasons with New Orleans + 1 in Houston. Add that to Blake and an even worse situation than with CP/Blake in terms of too many guys who simply can't stay on the floor.

Should have his jersey retired though.

[esqtvd]

Elite defender was not in the path for Blake. Short arms, didn't have any sort of elite defensive instincts, good motor, but not enough for top level effort on both ends. I'm not sure how he would have propelled himself to an elite defender at the NBA level, that's just a very rose colored revisionist history. I suppose he could if he did less on offense.

Blake had a short peak and too many injuries. You simply don't have sustained post-season success in the NBA of you are injured so much, and his body just didn't hold up well enough, which isn't something he could have done much about.

Here are the post-seasons Blake suffered a serious or season ending injury:
2013
2016
2017

The Clippers made the playoffs with him in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017. 6 seasons. Blake suffered a significant or season ending injury in 3/6. His last season they were 17-18 before he got traded, and Lou Williams had usurped his short lived role as the teams "guy" and closer, but even if he stayed, it would have been like 2 years of decent health after the contract before he broke down.

He went to Detroit, has one All-Star season where he was injured in the playoffs and that was the end of his star level career. Not everyone's body can survive a long healthy professional sports career. Despite being built like a LeBron, Blake did not have the durability of a LeBron (who does?). Due to that's there's no magic outside of giving him a less injury prone body that would have made his career any more successful than it was.

Bledsoe/Gordon/Blake/DJ would have been a nice team, but more like a 2nd round ceiling team. By the time you pay everyone your capped out. You would have Bledsoe who played 43, 81, 31, 66 games his next 4 seasons with Phoenix and Gordon who played 9, 42, 64, 61, 65, 75 his next 5 seasons with New Orleans + 1 in Houston. Add that to Blake and an even worse situation than with CP/Blake in terms of too many guys who simply can't stay on the floor.

Should have his jersey retired though.

Well done, sir. A fine telling of our history. It is what it is, it was what it was. Injuries cut our legs out from under us. Literally.

Anyone who claims they knew better at the time is lying. And as you point out, the $$$ alternatives were not in our favor either.

The real irony is that Ballmer tried the same damn thing with guys 5 years older. Lob City won many more games and was a lot more fun. At this point--with a much older team and the Kawhi's Knees of Damocles hanging over our head--history may not be laughing, but it's giggling...

[Roscoe Sheed]

Elite defender was not in the path for Blake. Short arms, didn't have any sort of elite defensive instincts, good motor, but not enough for top level effort on both ends. I'm not sure how he would have propelled himself to an elite defender at the NBA level, that's just a very rose colored revisionist history. I suppose he could if he did less on offense.

Blake had a short peak and too many injuries. You simply don't have sustained post-season success in the NBA of you are injured so much, and his body just didn't hold up well enough, which isn't something he could have done much about.

Here are the post-seasons Blake suffered a serious or season ending injury:
2013
2016
2017

The Clippers made the playoffs with him in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017. 6 seasons. Blake suffered a significant or season ending injury in 3/6. His last season they were 17-18 before he got traded, and Lou Williams had usurped his short lived role as the teams "guy" and closer, but even if he stayed, it would have been like 2 years of decent health after the contract before he broke down.

He went to Detroit, has one All-Star season where he was injured in the playoffs and that was the end of his star level career. Not everyone's body can survive a long healthy professional sports career. Despite being built like a LeBron, Blake did not have the durability of a LeBron (who does?). Due to that's there's no magic outside of giving him a less injury prone body that would have made his career any more successful than it was.

Bledsoe/Gordon/Blake/DJ would have been a nice team, but more like a 2nd round ceiling team. By the time you pay everyone your capped out. You would have Bledsoe who played 43, 81, 31, 66 games his next 4 seasons with Phoenix and Gordon who played 9, 42, 64, 61, 65, 75 his next 5 seasons with New Orleans + 1 in Houston. Add that to Blake and an even worse situation than with CP/Blake in terms of too many guys who simply can't stay on the floor.

Should have his jersey retired though.

Well done, sir. A fine telling of our history. It is what it is, it was what it was. Injuries cut our legs out from under us. Literally.

Anyone who claims they knew better at the time is lying. And as you point out, the $$$ alternatives were not in our favor either.

The real irony is that Ballmer tried the same damn thing with guys 5 years older. Lob City won many more games and was a lot more fun. At this point--with a much older team and the Kawhi's Knees of Damocles hanging over our head--history may not be laughing, but it's giggling...

The two eras do have the similarity of injuries and some degree of choking (both blew 3-1 leads).

However, I think the ceiling for the current team is higher. Kawhi is better than CP3 or Blake ever were and his supporting cast is better too- just have to hope they can all stay healthy

[Clemenza]

The greatest Clipper of all time.

[MartinToVaught]

Blake should absolutely be the first number retired. He did more than any other single person to transform this franchise. The only alternative that makes sense would be to retire Ralph's mic first.

[clipperlover]

Blake should absolutely be the first number retired. He did more than any other single person to transform this franchise. The only alternative that makes sense would be to retire Ralph's mic first.

False.

Without Dunleavy, Sterling would have neither invested in the Training Facility nor paid the contracts he did while Dunleavy was around.

Plus, Dunleavy was able to get Elgin pushed out the door.

[esqtvd]

Interesting thread--some but not a whole lotta of love for Blake and reminiscing the good times. The taste of ashes.

One thing we all seem to agree on though:



40 years a Clipper.

[PeteyPablo]

Lob City brought excitement and hope to the Clippers. But it also brought a lot of disappointment come play offs.

CP3 comes to mind with timely turnovers. Although beating the Spurs in a series was great, in 2014.

Blake made the Clippers relevant again. Clippers were doomed for another 20 years of bottom of the west post Elton Brand / Sam Cassell / Corey Maggette/ Chris Kaman/ Cuttino Mobley teams.

I would give my vote for retiring his Jersey.

[esqtvd]

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