Blake Griffin Suspension: LA Clippers Doing Better Without Griffin On Court
Blake Griffin suspension news hasn’t come quickly from the NBA offices. The LA Clippers are awaiting news on Griffin’s potential suspension following an incident where he punched an equipment manager. A report from Los Angeles Times writer Ben Bolch states that it might be a while before the NBA lets the Clippers know whether Griffin has been suspended or not.
Clippers are hoping to hear about Blake Griffin’s punishment soon but a decision may not be imminent, per league source. NBA takes its time.
— Ben Bolch (@latbbolch) February 2, 2016
A decision by the Clippers was made to not punish Blake Griffin for allegedly punching Matias Testi several times. Griffin and Testi are reportedly friends off the court, and a report from Fox Sports said that the pair convinced police not to escalate the situation when it took place. It may seem surprising to some NBA fans that the Clippers aren’t punishing an employee for assaulting another employee, but the NBA may not see it that way.
Clippers coach Doc Rivers spoke at length about what took place.
“He [Griffin] feels awful about it, and he’s let everyone know that. That’s all you can do. You have to forgive people at some point. I believe that. We built Richard Nixon a library. I mean, my goodness. You forgive people. You really do. You kind of move on, and you build it back.”
A Blake Griffin suspension is likely still coming from the league, although it probably won’t take place until after he returns from a broken hand he suffered during the incident. That injury could keep Griffin out for four to six weeks, putting the Clippers in a position of being shorthanded until he is on the court again. There had been a few trade rumors about Griffin before the incident, and even more have come up since then. The success the Clippers have had with him on the bench could also make the situation more intriguing.
The LA Clippers just put together the best month of January in the history of the franchise. That resulted in Doc Rivers winning Coach of the Month honors and the Clippers moving into the top half of the Western Conference standings. In the updated NBA standings, the Clippers are now 32-16 with a four-game winning streak. It’s good enough for the fourth seed in the West so far, putting the team four games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder for the three seed.
Despite missing a lot of games already, Blake Griffin is having a pretty good statistical season. In 30 games during the 2015-16 NBA season, Griffin has averaged 23.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per night. He is also just 26-years-old, showing that he has a lot of time left in the NBA. It’s possible that Griffin may learn something from a suspension by the league, especially with all the negative press he has received for the incident. What is unclear is just how many games the league office could suspend him for what happened in an NBA facility.
If Griffin does get suspended by the NBA, he will lose pay for the games that he misses. With a salary of just about $18.9 million this year, Griffin stands to lost about $230,582 per game. That’s a big paycheck to miss out on, and it doesn’t even count what type of fine the NBA could add to the punishment. As the report about his possible suspension indicated, it could still be a while before the league hands down the suspension. It’s also likely that the NBA puts off dealing with Blake Griffin until after the All-Star break.
[Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images]
