With the NBA trade deadline less than one month away, it is becoming more apparent by the day that the Los Angeles Clippers are looking to unload some big names off of their roster. According to reports, the team made an unsuccessful attempt at trading Blake Griffin and the $29.5 million he's making this season to Minnesota for Karl-Anthony Towns.
According to reports stemming from a Michael Scotto piece in Basketball Insiders, L.A. reached out to Minnesota to propose a one-for-one blockbuster deal but was swiftly rejected on the premise that the Timberwolves see the 22-year-old Towns as a franchise caliber star who they are unwilling to part with.
The news may come across as odd to Clippers fans who celebrated the organization's move to extend Griffin a five-year, $173 million extension only seven months ago.
Had talk of a swap proceeded beyond an initial phone call, L.A. might have been looking at cutting down on their payroll significantly, with Towns' 2018 campaign only costing $6.2 million - on a rookie contract that would have kept him in town for two additional seasons at about $18 million.
Other than the deal involving Towns, there was no talk about a Griffin deal in the press. However, Stephen A. Smith mentioned on Tuesday, January 16, that DeAndre Jordan has been pressing the team to send him off to the Rockets. Should Houston be interested, they'd have to contend with the Milwaukee Bucks, who are said to be interested in acquiring Jordan.
Source: slamonline.com
