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With NBA free agency for the 2017 offseason set to get underway on July 1 at 12:01 a.m. EDT, the rumors and excitement are beginning to fly surrounding the top players available. While there are plenty of intriguing names to watch for once free agency officially begins, there may be no one player who’ll garnish as much as interest as former Los Angeles Clipper Blake Griffin.
Griffin, who opted out of his contract with the Clippers, could leave his old team in a brutal spot after they recently traded away Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets. If Griffin decides not to re-sign with the Clippers, it could mean a rebuild in Los Angeles, as well as a new championship contender wherever he chooses to sign.
With that said, let’s take a look at the updated odds from Bovada on where Griffin could wind up landing in free agency.
Blake Griffin’s Free Agency Odds
- Los Angeles Clippers: -125
- Miami Heat: +250
- Boston Celtics: +400
- Oklahoma City Thunder: +500
As you can see, the odds are in the Clippers’ favor to retain Griffin. Interesting, it seems that the common theme is that Paul leaving Los Angeles may not actually hurt their chances of getting Griffin to return to the team, as ESPN’s Jeff Goodman pointed out.
CP3 leaving doesn’t necessarily hinder Clippers chances to bring back Blake Griffin. Remember, they haven’t exactly been boys.
He wasn’t the only one, as Los Angeles Times Clippers beat reporter Brad Turner believed Paul’s departure may have “cleared the way” for Griffin to re-sign.
Finally, as Bill Oram of the Southern California News Group reported, Griffin is the “top priority” for the Clippers heading into free agency, even with multiple other intriguing names on the market.
Clippers plan to informally meet with Blake Griffin’s agent before start of free agency tomorrow. He remains their top priority.
While Griffin returning to Los Angeles would make a lot of sense, it’s hard to rule out both the Heat and the Celtics, as the All-Star would immediately fill a need for both teams. You could even go as far as saying that if the Celtics were able to sign Griffin that it’d give them one of the most well-rounded rosters in the league aside from the Golden State Warriors.
As for the Heat, Pat Riley is known for being an incredible recruiter. In an article from ESPN’s Johnette Howard back from 2010 after Riley had recruited LeBron James and Chris Bosh to join Dwyane Wade, infamous New York Knicks fan and recruiter Spike Lee sounded off on Riley.
“These guys get in front of Pat Riley and he shows them his rings, and they lose their mind. Pat Riley gets people in his spell and it’s, ‘Whatever you want to do, Coach.'”
Finally, it’s tough to count out the Thunder and MVP Russell Westbrook. The idea of being able to play with Westbrook and the potential open space you could see on the floor, as well as his pin-point passing, should be appealing to any big man.
Time will tell, but it’s tough to bet against the early favorites and the team who drafted Griffin in the Clippers.
