FanShot

It's difficult to look that far ahead but if a player like Blake Griffin decides not to extend past...

86

It's difficult to look that far ahead but if a player like Blake Griffin decides not to extend past his rookie contract with the Los Angeles Clippers, assuming the new CBA is somewhat similar to the current deal, he would be an unrestricted free agent the year the Lakers might have a mountain of cap room.

Life After Kobe - Basketball News & NBA Rumors - The above quote is from Eric Pincus' HoopsWorld post today. Let me start by saying that I like Eric and he really knows his stuff. But I do NOT like the type of silly innuendo in the above quote (which is admittedly something of a throw away in the overall post). In fact, I dislike it so much that I wrote about 2,000 words about it back in January. There's nothing factually incorrect about what Pincus wrote above - if, under a CBA similar to the current one, Blake Griffin were to sign a Qualifying Offer when he's a restricted free agent in the summer of 2013, then he would be an unrestricted free agent in 2014. Of course, why not just say that the Clippers could trade Griffin to the Lakers for Luke Walton the day the lockout ends? It's a technically possible trade, but it won't happen. Writers seem to think they have a better chance of getting away with this sort of 2014 scenario as it involves a deeper understanding of the current CBA than most people have, and is less obviously ridiculous. But no player has ever turned down a maximum extension for a QO, and the odds that Griffin will be the first (in the process leaving tens of millions of dollars on the table) are minuscule. About the same as the odds that the Clippers will trade Griffin for Luke Walton.

Trending Discussions