Detroit Pistons: The one Blake Griffin trade that sort of makes sense

Detroit Pistons: Trading Blake Griffin for Al Horford

There are really only two reasons the Thunder would consider such a trade.

The first is that it would allow them to get out of Al Horford’s contract, which runs one year longer than Blake’s and would give them some future cap flexibility.

The second is to sell jerseys. It might sound crazy but Blake Griffin is from Oklahoma and would immediately be a fan favorite even though he is a shadow of his former self as a player.

The Thunder would also get Mason Plumlee for their troubles, a guy who has played his way into an asset.

Plumlee has been one of the pleasant surprises of the season and is the type of smart veteran that could fit in on any team and be a good mentor for OKC’s young guys.

He is also on a team-friendly contract that would be easy for the Thunder to trade if they wanted to or just keep, as all teams need guys like Plumlee.

The Thunder could probably just buy Blake Griffin out themselves, take the cap hit next season but save money overall as they’d be losing an extra year of Horford. That would mean Blake leaving some money on the table, but if they waited until next season he is far more likely to be open to it.

This would just be strictly a money move for the Thunder, but what about the Detroit Pistons?