Blake Griffin Trade Rumors: Possible Deal Between L.A. Clippers, New York Knicks Voided By NBA?

Blake Griffin trade rumors about a possible deal between the Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks have revealed some very interesting information about the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement. A report by the New York Post confirms that Knicks team president Phil Jackson has indeed been trying to deal Carmelo Anthony, with the Clippers a team that might just be interested in making a deal. As NBA analyst Marc Berman reports, the Knicks and Clippers cannot just swap Anthony for Griffin.

“A source confirmed the Knicks contacted the Clippers about an Anthony trade, but any deal would have great complexity because Blake Griffin can’t be on the Knicks roster at the same time as Derrick Rose because of an obscure rule in the collective bargaining agreement which holds that two players under a certain rookie contract extension can’t be paired on the same roster.”

This doesn’t mean that a deal between the Knicks and Clippers cannot take place. If the Knicks are keen on acquiring Griffin as part of the deal, then Derrick Rose has to go to Los Angeles with Anthony. Another scenario also exists, though, as the Clippers could deal role players and draft picks to New York in exchange for Anthony. While Phil Jackson wouldn’t be getting any star players in return, it would be a way to move in a new direction without Anthony on the roster. Would the Knicks fans riot if a deal like that took place?

Earlier in January, Fox Sports writer Dieter Kurtenbach was pushing hard for the Los Angeles Clippers to trade Blake Griffin to the New York Knicks. In a report, he suggested that the Clippers combine Griffin, Paul Pierce, and Diamond Stone to get the deal done. He must not have been aware of the stipulation within the Collective Bargaining Agreement that wouldn’t allow a trade like this to work. It still created a lot of NBA trade rumors, possibly raising the interest level of fans in Los Angeles who now want to see Carmelo Anthony come to town.

Though there continues to be a lot of Blake Griffin trade rumors floating around the league, including reports linking the All-Star power forward to deals with the Boston Celtics, there hasn’t been a lot of confirmed chatter coming out of Los Angeles. While the team could certainly look to move in a new direction, especially since Chris Paul can enter free agency in the NBA offseason, a better scenario for the team would be to acquire pieces that the All-Star point guard wants to play with. One of those pieces might just be Carmelo Anthony.

Having a foursome of Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan, and Carmelo Anthony could certainly make the Los Angeles Clippers an exciting team to watch in the 2017 NBA playoffs. That’s definitely a roster that could put together a good series against the Golden State Warriors, possibly setting up a must-watch Western Conference Finals matchup. In order to get that deal done, though, the Clippers might have to mortgage the future of the franchise, as the Knicks want youth and draft picks in exchange for the main player on their roster.

The Clippers are battling for the No. 4 seed in the West, with a tough second-round series against the Warriors very likely. This might just be the last season that the Clippers have Chris Paul as the floor leader, so the front office might want to pull out the stops when it comes to acquiring some help before the NBA trade deadline. Acquiring a player like Anthony might just convince Paul to re-sign as well. Making the deal would put a lid on the latest Blake Griffin trade rumors, but they would likely surface again in the offseason, especially if Paul decides to opt out.

[Featured Image by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images]