29 Trades for the Detroit Pistons and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
By Cary Gahm
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
Clippers Send: $21,417,759
- Blake Griffin – $20,143,839
- Brice Johnson – $1,273,920
Pistons Send: $19,295,276
- Jon Leuer – $10,991,957
- Marcus Morris – $4,625,000
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – $3,678,319
- 2018 First Round Pick
- 2019 Second Round Pick (From Cleveland, Houston, Orlando or Portland)
Clippers New Lineup:
C – D. Jordan | M. Speights | J. Leuer
PF – M. Morris | J. Leuer | B. Bass
SF – K. Caldwell-Pope | W. Johnson | P. Pierce | L. Mbah a Moute
SG – J.J. Redick | J. Crawford | A. Anderson
PG – C. Paul | R. Felton | A. Rivers
Pistons New Lineup:
C – A. Drummond | A. Baynes | B. Marjanovic
PF – B. Griffin | H. Ellenson | T. Harris
SF – T. Harris | R. Bullock | B. Johnson | M. Gbinije
SG – S. Johnson | D. Hilliard | R. Bullock
PG – R. Jackson | I. Smith | L. Brown*(R. McCallum)
Why the Clippers do it:
While losing an all-star in Blake Griffin would hurt, the Clippers have been stuck in the upper-middle class of the Western Conference for years. They have been unable to progress to the NBA Finals, and they have been unable to do anything to move forward. In fact, they spent much of their cap space this summer just maintaining their roster.
While they would lose Griffin, they would bring in a massive package of talent and picks. Picking up Morris, Caldwell-Pope, and Leuer would give the Clippers greater depth, stronger defense, and more space for Deandre Jordan and Chris Paul to operate. In fact this trade could turn out to be addition by subtraction for the Clippers, allowing Jordan and Paul to thrive in Griffin’s absence.
Why the Pistons do it:
The Pistons pick up a dominant power forward, a perennial all-star, and a freak athlete. His explosiveness and coordination combined with his proven ability to play alongside a dominant center like Andre Drummond could make this a perfect fit. While Detroit would lose a good deal of depth, the progression of Stanley Johnson, Henry Ellenson and Brice Johnson, combined with the pure talent of Griffin could make this the exact move the Pistons need to compete for a championship.
Potential Trade Outlook: Long Shot
Next: Los Angeles Lakers