When the Clippers decided to trade Blake Griffin the the Detroit Pistons, many thought it signified that the team was on the verge of hitting the reset button. This is especially the case as DeAndre Jordan‘s name has been at the center of trade discussions for seemingly the entire season.
Reports indicated that the Clippers will be patient and wait for the best possible trade for Jordan and Lou Williams, and no one knows if that means they have a bar for both that a potential deal would need to clear or if they’ll line up every proposed deal once the trade deadline rolls around and pick the best. One thing is for sure: For those outside of Los Angeles, this sure looks like a team getting ready to blow everything up.
In Doc Rivers’ eyes, though, this is not the case. The Clippers’ coach spoke for the first time since Griffin was moved and made it a point to stress that the team isn’t trying to get rid of everyone with an eye on bottoming out.
“We make this trade and then everyone thinks we’re just trading everybody away. That’s not true,” Rivers said according to Jovan Buha of ESPN. “But that’s what’s out there. Sometimes you can’t control the narrative. You just can control your job, and that’s what I have to do.”
Rivers is in a position as the team’s head coach where he can have the approach of move forward and try to win. And to his credit, he does seem to understand that the team is essentially trying to rebuild on the fly, saying “Sometimes there’s complete rebuilds. We’re not doing that. Sometimes you’re juggling and trying to create money and still trying to stay relevant and win. I think that’s us right now.”
The Clippers are one of the most fascinating teams in the league to watch over the next week or so as we get closer and closer to the trade deadline. Not just because they might be active, but because whatever they would do, it would apparently satiate Rivers’ desire to free up some cap space while winning basketball games.
