The Los Angeles Clippers may have lost one of their core pieces when they traded Chris Paul on Wednesday. But the team’s top priority heading into free agency is to retain another star.
Set to hit the open market this week, forward Blake Griffin will entertain offers from other teams. In fact, he already has a Saturday visit lined up with the Phoenix Suns (more on that here).
For their part, the Clippers will reportedly meet with Griffin’s agent prior to the start of free agency.
Clippers plan to informally meet with Blake Griffin's agent before start of free agency tomorrow. He remains their top priority.
— Bill Oram (@billoram) June 30, 2017
As noted, it’s nothing more than an informal meeting. And in reality, the Clippers would likely have to meet with Griffin himself before finding a way to retain the star power forward.
Among the teams interested in Griffin, the Boston Celtics are seemingly prepared to make a strong push for the All-Star. Pure conjecture here, but we can add San Antonio, Oklahoma City and Houston as potential landing spots for the often-injured 28-year-old big man.
Financially speaking, the Clippers still have an upper-hand here. They can offer Griffin $175 million over five seasons ($35 million per). Meanwhile, the most any other team can offer the former All-Star is $130 million over four years.