NBA Trade Rumors: Clippers To Send Blake Griffin To Trail Blazers, Rudy Gay To Los Angeles?
A new batch of NBA trade rumors has popped up involving Sacramento Kings star Rudy Gay. For weeks now, Gay has been amongst heavy speculation that he will be sent to a new franchise either before the new season or during it. He recently made it known to the organization he would not be renegotiating his contract at the end of the upcoming season, making it rather apparent he won’t be sticking around. That has brought on plenty of suggestions as to which teams might make a move for him.
The Sportsrageous website reported on Wednesday that one potential Rudy Gay trade would involve a three-team trade. Not only would it involve the Sacramento Kings, but also the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Portland Trail Blazers. Two of those squads were playoff teams last season, while the Kings failed to reach the postseason. That said, the All-Star whose name has been mentioned in the rumors is rather interesting as it’s none other than Blake Griffin.
The suggested trade involves the Clippers sending Griffin to the Trail Blazers. Portland would send Noah Vonleh to the Kings. Meanwhile, Sacramento would send Rudy Gay, Myers Leonard, Allen Crabbe, and a 2018 draft pick to the Clippers. It would seem like a bit of a reload for two of the squads, but quite puzzling for the Kings to make this move.
The biggest reason Sacramento might make this move is to get rid of an unhappy Rudy Gay. They’d gain Noah Vonleh from Portland in the deal. Vonleh, who was the No. 9 pick by the Charlotte Hornets in 2014 has produced lackluster numbers so far. He’s averaged 3.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 0.3 blocks per game for his career thus far. One would have to think the Kings would want to get quite a bit more in a deal for a scorer like Gay, rather than simply getting rid of a headache.
The Clippers would pick up a relatively good scorer in Rudy Gay, to join Chris Paul in the run and gun offense. The more one looks at this particular trade, though, the less sense it makes really. The Clippers basically have most of the components to win a championship with Griffin, Paul, and Jordan, as well as their roster depth. Giving up Griffin and bringing in Rudy Gay doesn’t seem to bring them any closer to the NBA Finals.
Part of the reason Los Angeles failed to get anywhere in the most recent postseason was due to unfortunate injuries. Both Chris Paul and Blake Griffin ended up being unable to play in the playoffs. That helped the lower-seeded Portland Trail Blazers upset them in the first round. Now that Golden State has picked up yet another big star in Kevin Durant, though, it seems teams may be trying to find answers to stay competitive in the West.
Still, these NBA trade rumors are likely to continue flying around until Gay is actually dealt by the Kings somewhere else. He’s been pretty much mentioned with every team in the league, as fans and basketball writers process various deals through ESPN’s trade machine to see if they are legit moves.
Blake Griffin has also been mentioned in a lot of NBA trade rumors as well. Just a few days ago, HGGN reported on a possible Clippers and Knicks deal involving the former dunk contest winner. The suggested trade indicated that Griffin might join the Knicks, while Kristaps Porzingis and Joakim Noah would go to the Clippers. It would be yet another interesting shakeup within the NBA. That would put Griffin on the court with Derrick Rose and Carmelo Anthony, to make yet another “Big Three” combination in the league.
As mentioned, teams in the Western Conference are all trying to find the right combination of players to be able to take down the Golden State Warriors. In the Eastern Conference, everyone knows that LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are the defending champions, so they’re also looking for answers. However, these latest trade rumors involving Rudy Gay and Blake Griffin don’t seem like the right way for the Kings or Clippers to solve their problems.
[Featured Image by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images]
