Blake Griffin and the Detroit Pistons have reportedly agreed to a contract buyout and the former All-NBA forward has now become the most prominent buyout name in quite some time.
The Los Angeles Lakers are one of several teams that have reportedly shown early interest in Griffin. According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, the Lakers join the Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets as teams potentially interested in signing Griffin.
Can the Los Angeles Lakers beat out the other interested teams?
We already broke down the reasons for and against the Lakers potentially signing Griffin, but how good are their chances? Based on the current status of the team, Griffin’s potential fit and any withstanding relationship, here are the possible destinations for Blake Griffin ranked by likelihood.
6. Los Angeles Clippers
I know that it has become a pipe dream for Clippers fans to see Griffin return to the team that he first called home — I just do not see it happening.
While time heals all wounds, Griffin’s departure from LA was not the greatest and you cannot blame Griffin if there is a lack of trust with the team. He did not even play one season into his new contract, in which he got his number retired, before they traded him to a place he likely never wanted to be in the Detroit Pistons.
It is not like the Clippers traded him for big assets, either. It was a salary dump move. They realized their mistake shortly after making it.
I don’t read too much into Griffin not giving Ballmer a handshake after the trade but I do recognize that this is a league where the players have far more pull than the owners and that does not bode well for the team that made it very clear that they did not think Griffin was worth the contract they just signed him to.