Trail Blazers at Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers were just beginning to roll with DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin finally healthy together, but the team has apparently decided to blow up its core. The Clippers will not have Griffin on the roster for the first time since making him the No. 1 pick in the 2009 draft when they host the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday.
Los Angeles reportedly traded Griffin, who is averaging 22.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists, to the Detroit Pistons on Monday night in exchange for Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanovic and first- and second-round draft picks. The Clippers, who currently sit in ninth place in the Western Conference, will also reportedly consider dealing Jordan and shooting guard Lou Williams. Griffin signed a five-year, $171 million contract extension with the team on July 1 and was set to be the face of the franchise for years to come after Chris Paul was dealt to the Houston Rockets over the summer. The Trail Blazers already have a face of the franchise in point guard Damian Lillard, who is averaging 28.8 points on 52.8 percent shooting while guiding the team to wins in five of the last six games.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (27-22): Portland took the opener of the two-game trip 107-93 at Dallas on Friday as Lillard led the way with 29 points. "I think we're in a good place," Lillard told the Oregonian. "Considering the ups and downs we've had so far this season, being five games over .500 ... I think looking at our last two years we haven't been in this position. Regardless of what happened, we haven't been in this position and playing well. I think we're playing our best basketball." CJ McCollum added 20 points on Friday - the 30th time in 48 games that he reached the 20-point plateau.
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (25-24): Los Angeles isn't going into full rebuild mode by bringing on Harris (18.1 points) and Bradley (15), who ranked first and second, respectively, on the Pistons in scoring. Bradley also gives the Clippers an elite perimeter defender that the team has been missing since Patrick Beverley went down with a season-ending knee injury in November. Dealing Williams, who leads Los Angeles in scoring at an average of 23.5 points and boosted that number to 28.8 in 14 games this month, and/or Jordan, who is second in the NBA in rebounding (14.8) and first in field-goal percentage (.668), would mark a bigger turn toward the future.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Clippers will also send PF Brice Johnson and C Willie Reed to Detroit.
2. Trail Blazers SG Evan Turner (personal) missed Friday's game but returned to practice on Sunday and is expected to play Tuesday.
3. Los Angeles took the last four in the series, including a 104-103 win at Portland on Oct. 26 in which Griffin buried a game-winning 3-pointer.