2. Blake Griffin has been playing poorly this year
Even if one wants to argue that the Los Angeles Lakers would’ve benefitted just from Griffin’s offense and that they wouldn’t have needed his defense or rebounding, that argument doesn’t hold water either.
Griffin is averaging 12.3 points in 31.3 minutes per game this season. While that may sound passable for someone who would’ve been a role player and simply played off of LeBron James and Davis (when he returns), that’s not the whole story.
The former Clipper is shooting just 36.5 percent from the field this season. Yeah, that’s right – that’s not a typo!
For some context, this is a guy who always shot over 50 percent in his first five seasons in the NBA.
If you think that he would’ve been magically restored to his old self with the Purple and Gold, think again. Last season he shot just 35.2 percent from the field.
Going from terrible shooting numbers like that to at least the mid-40s is a huge leap that cannot be fixed simply by switching teams and cities.
Griffin also isn’t a good 3-point shooter either, as he’s hitting just 31.5 percent of his treys this season. Last season he was even worse at just 24.3 percent from downtown.
And if you at least think Griffin can be a lob threat like he used to be, think again. In 20 games this season, he has yet to throw down one dunk. Last season he had only five dunks in 18 contests.