The Los Angeles Clippers may have lost Chris Paul in a trade earlier this week, but the team was able to lock up Blake Griffin on a long-term deal mere hours before he was set to hit free agency.
Brad Turner over at the Los Angeles Times was the first to report that the Clippers and Griffin were close to a new five-year contract.
Griffin and Clippers close to finalizing a five-year, max deal of $175 million for him to remain with team.
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) July 1, 2017
Since, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reports that the terms of the deal will pay Griffin $173 million over the next five seasons.
There was speculation that Griffin might depart Southern California following the trade of the aforementioned Chris Paul. Heck, he was set to meet with the Phoenix Suns on Saturday.
But a last-ditch effort by the Clippers’ brass apparently sealed the deal here. Los Angeles met with Griffin’s agent on Friday, at which point it seems like a deal had been agreed to.