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Clippers' message to Blake Griffin is simple: 'We need you'

When Doc Rivers sat down with Blake Griffin to pitch him on why he should stay in Los Angeles, his message was simple.

“I just told him, ‘We need you,’ ” he said.

“It’s a challenge for all of us,” Rivers said. “But change is not bad. Everyone thinks change is bad. No, change is good. What we have done has been great. You look at our record and our wins, we’ve been great. But it’s not good enough. And we accept that.”

“We went out and put together probably the best roster that we could,” Griffin said. “We got the guys that we need in certain positions, guys that are very, very versatile, guys that impact the game on both ends of the floor in several different ways, so that to me is extremely exciting. The more versatility you have, the harder you are to guard, and I think that’s the recipe for winning in today’s NBA.”

Tyler Blint-Welsh, LA Times

Griffin says decision to remain with Clippers a no-brainer

“I want to say how excited I am to be back. This has been my home since I was drafted. A lot went into this decision,” Griffin said Wednesday. “In the end, I realized this was a no-brainer for me. This is the place where I want to start and finish my career. . This next chapter and next season for the Clippers and myself, I’ve never been more excited about an opportunity.”

Griffin said he and Paul talked about his decision to want to leave the Clippers.

“No hard feelings,” said Griffin, a five-time All-Star. “I think we’re all professional enough to know and we’ve all been in the situation now to know sometimes you have to do what’s right and what’s best for yourself and your family. I’ve never had hard feelings with any of my teammates who decided to leave or felt like it was best to leave. I wouldn’t start now.”

Los Angeles also suits Griffin and all of his non-basketball ventures. So his summer wasn’t filled with meetings with other teams. He canceled those after he met with the Clippers.

“I didn’t want to waste anybody’s time,” Griffin said. “Once I met with the Clippers, I knew that’s what I wanted to do. I didn’t want to have them fly in and sit through what I’m sure was going to be an awesome presentation but those teams needed to be able to have time to make decisions. I didn’t want to tie anybody up and make them go through the process when I already knew what I was doing.”

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JGOJustin wrote:Called it a "Realistic" expectation and will be on the court in a couple of weeks.

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Good news!

mkwest wrote:

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22. BLAKE GRIFFIN, CLIPPERS

The career reboot that Griffin (21.6 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 4.9 APG) so desperately needed fell into his lap this summer. With Chris Paul and J.J. Redick both leaving L.A., the three-time All-Star power forward takes over as the undisputed alpha dog for a Clippers team that will welcome all the scoring and playmaking he can muster. Given that his last three seasons were each marred by injury, Griffin finds himself at an unfortunate crossroads. Can he reclaim his All-Star form and carry a winning team with his scoring, passing and tempo-setting game? Or, will his accumulated health issues push the 28-year-old power forward towards an early-onset decline? Simply put, will he get back to being the old Griffin or, in a worst-case scenario, is he at risk of becoming the next Amar’e Stoudemire?

For now, Griffin remains a nightmare individual cover: he can bully smaller defenders, blow past slower defenders, step out to hit mid-range jumpers, initiate transition scenarios from his own defensive rebounds, run an effective two-man game with dribble hand-offs near the arc, and create offense with high-low passes to DeAndre Jordan. However, his jaw-dropping dunks have become less common in recent years, he hasn’t yet mastered a career-extending three-point shot, and he was never a true rim-protector on defense. In other words, if his burst and pop start to wane, he will find it very difficult to live up to the terms of his new five-year, $173 million max contract. Although it’s not yet clear exactly when Griffin will be back from a toe injury, his expanded post-Paul role should make for a fun and free-wheeling season once he does return.

illastrate wrote:These rankings really place a premium on perceived health. CP3 missed quite a few games per usual, but he was healthy down the stretch and had a monster playoff series, hence his consistent ranking. Blake ended the season with an injury and was expected not to be ready for this upcoming season, thus his ranking took a hit. If Blake had a healthy career year, no doubt he will jump in or near the top 10 in the next rankings.