Sorry Celtics fans, but Doc Rivers isn't trading Blake Griffin to Boston


Blake Griffin hasn't played a game since he suffered a quad injury on Christmas Day.  Just as he was getting ready to return, Griffin broke his hand after punching his equipment manager in the face.  Now the All-Star power forward is out another six weeks, maybe more.

The Clippers are 13-3 in his absence.  When Griffin went down, his club was 17-13 and had the same record as the Celtics.  Now L.A. is 30-16.  Whether or not it's a good one, there's a case to be made that the Clippers should consider trading the man who finished third in the MVP voting a year-and-a-half ago.  But even if they do, there's a zero-percent chance Griffin is coming to Boston.

There's a guy by the name of Glenn "Doc" Rivers who is currently the head coach and president of basketball operations in Los Angeles.  You may remember him from his time with the Celtics, along with the fact that he didn't exactly leave on the best of terms.

But putting that aside, you can also be sure Rivers is very aware of Danny Ainge's recent reputation for winning trades.  Even if the relationship between the two is solid enough to make a deal, Rivers would never risk the possible embarrassment of letting Ainge (of all people) get the best of him.  There are 28 other teams he could deal his embattled superstar to that aren't run by his crafty former boss.

If Rivers were to even consider sending Griffin (who's averaging 23 / 9 / 5 and has two more years left on his contract) to the Celtics, the asking price would be beyond substantial.  It'd likely start with this year's Brooklyn pick, Marcus Smart and Jae Crowder, and include something else too.  Adding Amir Johnson makes the money work, but that may or may not be enough.  Regardless, there's no way Ainge would give all that up, so it's a dead end.

Sorry to crush anybody's dreams, but it's better just to nip this one in the bud.



For more on this and other trade possibilities, check out our CelticsLife Live show from 1/27.


Follow Mark Vandeusen on Twitter @LucidSportsFan