The core nucleus of the Los Angeles Clippers have been together for a while now, as they have made the postseason in six straight seasons, with the last four coming under current head coach Doc Rivers.
Despite reaching the postseason in six straight seasons with All-Stars like Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, the Clippers have yet to make to to the Conference Finals, most recently losing to the Utah Jazz in seven games in the first round this season.
Where the Clippers go from here remains to be seen, as both Paul and Griffin are set to hit free agency this summer. Rivers is also the president of basketball operations of the Clippers, so he will be the one making the decision on who stays and who goes.
According to Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN, it appears more likely that the Clippers will re-sign Paul than Griffin:
Sources close to the Clippers say that they expect Paul to re-sign with the Clippers. He’ll be eligible for a five-year contract in excess of $200 million. Griffin’s return is less certain, sources say.
If Griffin leaves in free agency he will likely receive a max contract from someone, and the Los Angeles Lakers could possibly be interested.
Injuries have been an issue for Griffin throughout his career, as he dealt with both knee and toe injuries that limited him to 61 games this past season. When he has been on the court he has been productive though, as the five-time All-Star has averaged 22.0 points, 9.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists in his seven-year NBA career.
Griffin has only played in 80 games or more in three seasons though, and hasn’t played a full 82 games since his first season in 2010-11.
Griffin is only 28-years-old, compared to Paul who is 31. The nine-time All-Star, Paul, has averaged 18.7 points, 9.9 assists and 4.4 rebounds in his 12-year career.
Sunday’s first round departure marks the beginning of what should be a very interesting offseason for the Clippers organization.
