The NBA Trade Deadline is just a few weeks away and while some fairly big names like Jeff Teague and Al Horford have been thrown around as being available, the rumor mill has been fairly quiet. Things picked up on Friday when Sporting News' NBA writer Mitch Lawrence reported the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets have discussed a Blake Griffin trade.
It certainly came out of left field, playoff contenders rarely look at moving center pieces of their franchise and it's hard to find a fit between the Nuggets and Clippers in a Griffin deal. Griffin, who is now out for a month with a broken hand after getting into a physical altercation with an equipment manager.
Griffin hasn't played since he suffered a quadriceps injury on December 25 against the Los Angeles Lakers. Since Griffin has been out, the Clippers' record has been 15-4. It's possible with Griffin out for another four-to-six weeks, Los Angeles is focused on this year and believes trading Griffin for more pieces now will help them contend.
The problem is, it's hard to find a match between the Clippers and Nuggets. Denver would have to part with Danilo Gallinari and Kenneth Faried, but even that may not be enough. It also wouldn't make nearly enough of a difference for the Clippers to really emerge as a top-two team in the Western Conference who can beat the Golden State Warriors or San Antonio Spurs in a seven-game series.
More details are certainly necessary, but it is at least noteworthy from this report that the Clippers could be open to moving Griffin. If that's true, he would become the hottest name during the days and weeks leading up to the trade deadline. Stay tuned for more details.
UPDATE:
Clippers' reporter Dan Woike dumped some water on the smoke, saying Denver reached out to ask about Griffin but Los Angeles had no interest.