Blake Griffin! Everyone and their mom saw this pick coming to whoever was lucky enough to land the #1 overall pick. Griffin was a standout in college, averaging just under 23 points a game with 14.4 rebounds. Last year, Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley had to fight it out towards who was going to be the #1 overall pick (Rose eventually won that battle), but this year Griffin was unanimously the best player in the draft. So for once in the Clippers troubled history, something good happens to them. They get a player who can dominate both offensively, defensively, and is a very coachable and well liked guy, a guy that the Clippers need desperately.
Side note: I'm tired of teams who take guys like Zach Randolph just because he is a nightly double-double (more like he eats a nightly double-double) when they should be looking at character players who can play AND are manageable on
court (David Lee and Shane Battier come to mind). Despite all the injuries to players such as Shawn Livingston, Elton Brand, and Baron Davis, the Clippers are finally moving in the right direction. They have a point guard in Baron Davis who, if healthy, can give you as many points as he wants with almost as many assists. Then they have two guys who are trying to make a name for themselves in Eric Gordon and Al Thorton, both who are good players and have shown some potential and if given the right motivation, can blossom into dominant players. Finally, their post presence includes Marcus Camby, Zach Randolph, and Chris Kaman, who is a rebounding maching. Throw in Blake Griffin in there and the Clippers look to be a team on the rise, at least on paper.
Another side note: Why is Dunleavy still coaching them? People have blamed the team on their management, their players, and sometimes even their lack of fans, but why hasn't anyone realized that Dunleavy simply isn't doing the job that he once was doing? The Bulls fired their coach, so did the Heat, and look at where it got them... The Playoffs!
So with everything that the Clippers had going for them, it was all suddenly overlooked with the arrival of Ron Artest and the departure of Trevor Ariza. Now the only news that anyone can hear about in Los Angeles is how Artest is going to help Kobe Bryant win his 5th ring and if Ariza will fire his agent for basically choosing the Rockets over the Lakers. When my friend and I were talking about the Lakers, he reminded me that the Clippers drafted Blake Griffin, and I honestly forgot about it. Let's face it, unless the Clippers win a championship, there will only be one meaningful NBA team in Los Angeles.
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