Could Clips Have Paired Blake with Shai?

Could we have used the 13th pick instead of the 12th to make the same deal?

Starters: Shai, Bev, Galo, Blake, Gortat

2nd unit: Milos, Lou, Luc, Trez, Scott

Rest: Ty, Thorny, Motley, Dekker, Delgado

We could have kept Dekker and still unloaded Wes and Evans if wanted.

I still like our current roster better but we keep saying we got Shai in the Blake deal. If you replace Shai with JR in the Blake package it doesn’t look quite as juicy.

I don't really understand what you mean. Used the 13th instead of 12th to make what deal?

We had to trade up a spot ensure getting Shai using the pick that Blake got us, however we had the next pick ( our own) and could have used it instead. We would not have gotten Robinson in that scenario but still would have had Blake. Also if that premise is correct we actually received Robinson for Blake as we could have used our own pick to get Shai.

We are better with Harris/Bradley/Bobi over Blake and we wouldn't have Robinson or all the flexibility that we now have. And Gallinari would be playing SF, which is a stretch for him. That trade was a steal.

Never look back.

Yep...that’s what it comes down to. Who would’ve ever thought that Bobi was the difference maker. Just wondering aloud...would we have been better off pairing Kawhi with Blake and Shai.

Absolutely. If Shai turns out to be as good of a player as many of us think, he alone will have been worth it. But to also get Harris and Boban...what a great deal for us. West made two very good deals in the CP3 trade and BG trade...never look back

The point is we didn’t have to get rid of Blake to get Shai. We could have gotten that done without trading Blake. We actually got JR for Blake... not Shai.

Then we don’t get Tobias and Boban. Who cares about pairing Blake and Shai, We paired Blake with the best playmaking PG in the league and he couldn’t get it done.

I’m missing what he point of this thread is. Blake didn’t live up to potential.

Shai has a long way to go to get to cp3 level and it probably wouldn’t happen before Blake was super washed up.

Blake gave us some good years, but overall just wasn’t good enough.

Blake had 2 good games against garbage comp. but if he continues to average 30-10-5 on 50% I’ll say we made a mistake.

WTF the team played better without Blake in the line up and had better records.so why do we want to revisit that scenario so Blake can hold on to the ball to stop ball movement while he takes his time to make a decision

The point of this thread is to put an illusion that Blake is so great that we will be much better this year if he was on the team paired with Shai.

Tobias and Boban alone are producing about what Blake produces or more, without the max contract to go with it (at least so far - depending on what we do with Tobias).

Agreed, I like Harris better than Blake with the team we are building. I loved Blake’s game but his whining and lack of defense was frustrating

No not at all. The point is that we could have a debate whether we’d be better off with Blake and a max contract for Kawhi or say... Butler and Kawhi. If we could somehow land Durant and Kawhi it’s a no brainer but Blake and Kawhi instead of Butler and Kawhi is worth a second thought. I think it’s interesting that we could have actually paired Blake with Kawhi and Shai but as I said I like our current situation better (providing we keep Boban), AND we didn’t really get Shai in the Blake package so it isn’t quite as good as everyone wants to suggest.

He couldn’t get what done? You mean the team didn’t win a championship? Duh... as far as getting to another round your boy CP had just as much to do with that in the epic OKC meltdown. Obviously we’d need, just as we do now, to add a superstar like Kawhi. We’re not getting it done as assembled without someone like him. Are Kawhi, Blake and SGA...along with the others a viable contender? Of course.

Omg why are people so erect over Blake?? 1-he is sure as hell not a superstar. PAAAAAAAAA. 2-He Is peaked, and did 2 years ago. 3- Injury prone. 4- His attitude is what killed it with Lob City. He can kiss my ass for a gallon of gas and I am so happy Griffin is bye bye

Last time I checked superstars make the all star team...so why was he not an all star last year lol?

What? You mean you don’t think Kawhi is a superstar? If you’re talking about Blake, I did not refer to him as a superstar. Slow down and read the post again.

My bad, I thought people were talking about Blake being a superstar. Leonard is for sure a superstar that guys a stud.

To be clear I am not suggesting that we should have kept Blake and added Shai just that we could have. I try to look for ways to provoke debate. as in all good threads, and thought that it was an interesting point. It may not even be a good thread but that’s my thought process. After all everybody keeps adding Shai to our net gain when speaking of the Blake trade and that’s not necessarily true.

Blake Griffin is obviously very talented and athletic.... but he's a cancer. His passive aggressive weirdness put a target on the team with the referees. He created a culture of Hollywood level entitlement that spread throughout the entire squad, and we couldn't get rid of it. He also beefed with players from other teams.

I'm not a fan of Blake Griffin's game, post Lob City. He got injured too much during that time, and he knew it. Now, he has to rely on mechanical jumper, awkward post moves, inconsistent FT shooting, and underachieving defense. Shai isn't a good outside shooter at this juncture, so what's the benefit of pairing him with BG?

I want the LA Clippers to win. I don't care if Kia comes out with a new Optima that Blake can jump over. It might be his Rookie status, but Shai is 110% positive so far. Keep him away from BG. I like the kid's attitude.

I think the Hornets wanted either Shai or Bridges and both would have been gone by the 13th pick, so I really think the only way we got Shai was through the Detroit pick. Toronto was also trying to trade up for Shai as were a few other teams.

The Detroit pick and our pick were back to back. I’m suggesting that we could have used the 13th pick instead of the 12th to move up. It was only one spot difference.

I know and I don’t think both players would have lasted past the 12th pick. The difference in draft rankings between Bridges, Alexander and the next prospects including Zhaire Smith, Lonnie Walker and Jerome was pretty big, IMO. Could be wrong but it sounded like other teams were going to make a move for either Bridges or Alexander, whoever Charlotte didn’t pick

Possibly, but a lot does change in the scenario.

I'm hoping he stays healthy for the season. I'm not automatically against players just because they leave the Clippers. I like Blake, he had a nice game vs Chicago, nice defensive stop to seal the win too, and some nice clutch shots. We'll see how he keeps it up, 2 good games against Brooklyn and Chicago obviously is just that, and his health is always a factor.

If the Clippers could have traded their 13th pick to move up to the 11th pick, they would have traded their 13th pick to move up. But they couldn't so they traded their 12th pick.

Speaking of former Clippers, DJ is shooting 90% FT on his first 10 FTA attempts, of the season lol. For the 3 games of the season he's averaging 17/13/2

Now tell us how you really feel about Blake.. lol

He actually balled out today as well. 18pts 16reb.

It’s not a fluke either if you watch the Mavs they did what I have been saying. Pairs him with 4 shooters, and Luka is an elite passer at the 4 so it’s a recipe for success for Dj.

Blake -- 50 pt,14 boards 6 assists. His best game ever. See what happens when he's got something to prove, when he sees that he won't be babied.

Trading him did light an extra fire, but he mentioned something that we had discussed before, early in his career. This off-season was the first one he's had in the last three years to actually work extensively on his game as opposed to rehabbing from an injury. This was the same problem he had between his rookie season and the 13-14 season. People kept complaining that he didn't improve enough, but he spent his off-seasons rehabbing and barely had time to work on his game. If you're always working hard just to be ready for the season, it makes it hard to actually work on your game.

That has been one of the ignored difficulties Blake has had over his career because of his injuries.

He definitely put in some work on that jump shot. They have Cleveland tonight which means he could go for 60 in his sleep against that team. Can't wait to see how he looks when they go on the road and face tougher competition. Van Gundy probably would still be the coach if Blake even halfway played like he is now

For me it wasn't improvement off his game, it was his attitude. About rehabbing his injuries, point made. However, he reminded me of a spoiled trust funder who felt that he could do whatever he chose without consequence. He now realizes that there are consequences and if he is a jerk at DET, he will be traded.

Yeah, its a damn shame that he didn't get his head on straight last season when we gave him the keys to the car. The injuries, the Kardashian/Jenner saga, his baby moms drama, the Hollywood comedy priorities, etc. Looks like he just needed to get out of LA. I've been watching Pistons games. Him knocking down the three ball is key for him cause it opens up the rest of the floor, he's diving for loose balls again, and he's become a vocal leader on the team something we prayed he'd do for us but never really happened. They're not really that talented though overall. Hell of a start though. They've had a long homestand against mediocre Eastern teams. Lets see how they look against the Celtics tomorrow.