For many people around the basketball-watching universe, the Blake Griffin trade came straight out of left field. In the span of a few minutes on Monday evening, Griffin went from a perceived Clipper for life, to being at the center of talks between Los Angeles and Detroit, to a member of the Pistons.
But might Griffin have learned that he was on the move as far back as last week? We here at Dime feel it is important to present the evidence, because thanks to Ricky Chu, we might have been aware of the moment where Griffin learned his days in Los Angeles were numbered.
Chu was apparently in an advantageous position to hear a Griffin outburst Jan. 22, when the Clippers hosted the Minnesota Timberwolves and the former All-Star forward let some colorful language fly.
Asked Blake Griffin for a pic and he ran to the locker room yelling “9 fucking years!” Like he’s pissed off at something. The team? The fans? Himself?
— Ricky Chu (@RikDaddy) January 23, 2018
At the time that tweet got sent, a lot of people thought for sure this meant that the widely-rumored trade for DeAndre Jordan, since his first season with the Clippers was 2008-09. It would make sense that Griffin would be upset that his longtime running mate getting moved, but is it possible that he just learned about his impending trade? This tweet by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN makes it seem possible.
Talks on the Clippers-Pistons blockbuster started six days ago, but accelerated in the past 24 hours, league sources tell ESPN. The framework of a deal had been in place since early afternoon.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 30, 2018
Jordan is in his 10th season in the NBA. Griffin, meanwhile, is in his ninth — he missed his entire rookie year, but has been a Clipper ever since he was drafted in 2009. Oh, and this happened seven days before Griffin was traded, so while it’s impossible to know if this is the moment Griffin learned the team would look to send him out, it’s certainly plausible.
