Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer realizes the importance of keeping All-Stars Chris Paul and Blake Griffin on the team for the long run.
Paul, 31, and Griffin, 27, have played essential roles in keeping the Clippers competitive throughout the last few years. Both players have the option to become free agents next summer, something they will most likely do to get a pay raise.
According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, Steve Balmer plans on keeping the pairing regardless of what it may cost:
Most importantly, according to Clippers insiders, Ballmer is committed to keeping both Griffin and Paul long term, no matter what it costs.
Do both want to stay? That’s impossible to predict nine months out from free agency. But it’s hard to imagine either finding as good of a setup as they have in Los Angeles. Both have firmly planted roots in L.A., with deep ties to the business and entertainment worlds. Paul has essentially become a CEO-in-training, befriending executives he does business with and those who frequent Clippers games; Griffin is a superstar pitchman and budding comic.
Chris Paul, a standout elite point guard since stepping onto the NBA hardwood for the first time, still holds great value today. He averaged 19.5 points and 10 assists per game for the Clippers last season, being one of the only players in the league to average a double-double. Retaining Paul is key to the Clippers remaining successful.
Blake Griffin, arguably just as good as Paul, has also been purely dominate in recent years. His season was cut short due to injury last year, but the show he put in the 2015 Playoffs is well documented: He averaged 25.5 points, 12.7 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and shot 51% from the field in 14 games that postseason.
The “lob city” faction created by Paul and Griffin has helped make the Clippers, for once, the more dominant Los Angeles team since 2011. Should they allow Griffin or Paul to walk in free agency next summer, the team’s chemistry, production, and overall success would greatly suffer.
Steve Ballmer knows this much, and plans on agreeing to deals with both Paul and Griffin as soon as free agency opens on July 1st.
