Welcome To Lob Motor City

Monday afternoon the NBA exploded with a big-time trade that nobody saw coming. The Clippers sent Blake Griffin and two other players to Detroit for Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, and Boban Marjanovic a 2018 first round pick that has top four protections and a 2019 2nd round pick. This article will have you covered on everything you need to know with the implications this blockbuster trade will do to both sides.

Los Angeles Clippers: Trading away a franchise player is never easy, but when you shovel out five years 170-million-dollars to a player that will be owed 40 million on the last year of his deal it was a little easier for this trade to happen. Receiving Harris, Bradley and the picks are fantastic with the amount of financial flexibility and the talent to receive in return. Harris is only 25 and on an affordable contract until the end of next season. Bradley is a free agent after this season and won’t command max money on the open market. The Clippers can re-sign Bradley and still get draft picks and young players in return for veterans De Andre Jordan and Lou Williams who the Clippers are still actively seeking to find a trade partner for.

Expect the Clippers to be able to convey their plan of getting younger and still maintain on court talent with additional draft picks to help this roster moving forward. If the Clippers do end up trading Jordan and Williams this team will look rejuvenated with the only potential bad contract in Danilo Gallinari on the roster. First things first, re-sign Bradley and get Tobias Harris locked up both under max deals, watch closely what Patrick Beverly’s recovery will look like next season and hit on your extra draft picks. If this happens look for the Clippers to be scary during the 2019-2020 season.

Detroit Pistons: Head Coach and General Manager Stan Van Gundy is taking a risk trading what ended up being two pieces for a star that still has plenty left in the tank. The key piece to this deal getting done was the play of Harris, who is having his best season and Detroit cashed in on his value to get a team interested to make this move. Griffin will have a frontcourt mate in Drummond who is better than Jordan on the offensive end. Drummond is enjoying a career high in assists and free throw percentage this season and it isn’t by mistake. Expect this frontcourt duo to use every way imaginable to get all the wing shooters that the Pistons have open looks. Reggie Bullock & Luke Kennard will benefit the most from teams having to commit clogging the lane focusing on Drummond and Griffin which will prove vital knowing that Griffin and De Marcus Cousins (pour one out) are the best passing big men in the league. Pistons fans will actually show up to games and be entertained from their perimeter guys raining wide open raining threes and signaling the opposing coach to call timeouts.

Next up is the important move to trade Reggie Jackson for the little financial flexibility they can give themselves to get better. Otherwise, they will be locked into this team and a low-end playoff seed that will look like the Portland of the East. Move Jackson to Orlando for Elfred Peyton and a heavily protected first round pick and reap the benefits of a pass first point guard that can get the ball into your duo’s hands opening the offense and spacing the three-point line for your snipers to be open. If that doesn’t work, move Jackson for Ricky Rubio and Derrick Favors. Utah will not make the playoffs this season and is actively shopping Favors. The Jazz could re-sign Rodney Hood at a discount and sport a Jackson and Donovan Mitchell backcourt to provide the scoring punch Utah has struggled with this season. Detroit receives a pass first point guard they need that matches the personal and Favors could be a nice backup while still receiving the minutes necessary not to pout on sidelines. The Pistons have a good opportunity in front of them to get better and shouldn’t be done making moves. Van Gundy could have this team playing where Washington and Cleveland would have a tough time matching up and would want to avoid them in the first round of the playoffs.