Detroit Pistons’ forward Blake Griffin drew attention this week to disparities in attitudes toward small- and large-market teams. But what can be done?
Detroit Pistons’ forward Blake Griffin drew attention to the attitudes toward small- and large-market NBA teams in an appearance on comedian Neal Brennan’s podcast, “How Neal Feel,” Monday.
No stranger to the abrupt ways of the NBA trade market, Griffin has no qualms with players who want to take more control away from front offices when it comes to determining their fates. However, Griffin does seem troubled when that control is used to abandon small-market teams for the glamour of larger-markets.
When asked about his trade from Los Angeles to Detroit, Griffin lamented the sympathy he received.
“Everyone was like, ‘sorry, man,'” Griffin said about initial reactions to his move. He then explained that when he would express to others that Detroit was a great place, he would be pressed further: “No, how’s it really?”
Griffin seems to see this as an issue in attitude toward small markets versus large markets, and continues in the interview with an anecdote that shows the hypocrisy he sees in this dichotomy.
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Regarding an unnamed former teammate, Griffin references the reactions he noticed to said teammate’s trade from an unnamed small-market city to the Los Angeles Lakers.
“You look at his Instagram and it’s like ‘Congrats, bro! Happy for you! You did it!'” Griffin said in a tone of bewilderment.
After a short pause, Griffin noted that this ex-teammate “gets the same salary, didn’t make the playoffs, and now he’s not on that team.”
Griffin continued by making the point that his tenure with the Pistons has been significantly longer than this unnamed player’s two-and-a-half months in Los Angeles and that the Pistons made the playoffs last year. However, Griffin still seems to see more praise given to a player’s geography than a player’s success.