The Clippers and Blake Griffin reached agreement on a five-year, maximum salary deal the minute free agency began this past July, with both sides recognizing that there was still some unfinished business.
One major factor into Blake’s rather quick decision was NBA legend Jerry West, who joined the Clippers as a consultant two weeks before Griffin re-signed.
“Jerry had a major voice to me, and he’s had an influence in coming and working on the culture here,” Griffin told Shams Charania of The Vertical. “This franchise had unfinished business, and I had unfinished business here. We had unfinished business together and I valued that. We laid it out there that no matter what was going on around us, both sides hadn’t accomplished what we set out for.
“I couldn’t abandon this now.”
With Chris Paul opting to leave the franchise in June, it’s safe to say this Clippers squad is now Blake Griffin’s team. Griffin has taken on the challenge so far, averaging MVP-like numbers in the team’s first two weeks of basketball.
“I embrace the challenge,” Griffin told Shams Charania. “With Chris gone, it changed our dynamic. For me, of course, I can look at it: I have the responsibility on my shoulder – all season. I have to do it. When Chris sat out, I was able to show it. I want to prove that I can sustain that style of play. Chris was one person, but we also lost J.J. [Redick], who I knew going into the free-agency process wouldn’t be back, Jamal [Crawford], who I thought we’d keep this summer but we had to move him around.
“So part of our core guys separated and that affected us. It changed the philosophy and we had to be accepting of the challenge.”
For the Clippers, the team’s potential rests on Blake Griffin’s shoulders. Perhaps this wouldn’t even be the case if the team never reached out to NBA legend Jerry West in early June.
