Clipper-for-life Blake Griffin traded by Clippers

The L.A. Clippers traded Blake Griffin to the Detroit Pistons for Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, and a lightly protected first-round pick on Monday.

Yes, the Clippers, who seven months ago organized a mock jersey retirement for Griffin as a part of an elaborate free-agent pitch, traded the dude to Michigan in the dead of winter. The guy they’ve been calling a Clipper For Life was a Clipper For Like Seven More Months, Tops.

Griffin did not have a no-trade clause, though he was eligible to negotiate one with the Clippers. It would appear, though it’s not confirmed, that L.A. either withheld offering a no-trade or made Griffin choose between that and a guaranteed fifth year. It was wise either way, and honestly Griffin made the right choice if the latter was the case.

They sell coats in Detroit. The team is still actually kind of interesting, though its future is tied up in the knees of aging Griffin and the stuttering progress of Andre Drummond. Michigan is nice! This isn’t, like, a death sentence (though Griffin has been dabbling in film and comedy, and L.A. is generally a better home base for that than Detroit).

Do not mistake this acknowledgment of the Clippers’ hilarious-in-retrospect pitch to Griffin as a critique of their decision to trade him now: It is every much their right to trade a player they convinced to stay as it is a player’s right to leave in free agency after a team caters to his needs for years. It’s all business.

Here are Paul Flannery’s eight takeaways from the trade. Here’s Lucas Hann on the Clippers’ new big picture. The Clippers, by the way, are still accepting offers for DeAndre Jordan and Lou Williams (and probably Avery Bradley now, too). Steve Hinson from Detroit Bad Boys thinks the Pistons need to keep making moves to make this move work. Griffin’s immediate Twitter reaction was good.

CHA 96, IND 105
MIN 100, ATL 105
PHX 109, MEM 120
PHI 95, MIL 107
MIA 95, DAL 88
BOS 111, DEN 110

I unpacked the Kevin Love vs. Isaiah Thomas battle in Cleveland. LeBron’s silence is deafening.

Joakim Noah was upset Jeff Hornacek put him in for garbage time due to a lack of big available bodies. So Noah apparently had a backstage yelling fit about it. Now the Knicks are trying to trade him. Y’all, I don’t think anyone is going to trade for Noah.

Is Kyrie Irving a madman or a genius? (Why not both?)

JABARI PARKER IS BACK ON FRIDAY! (Yes, this is turning back into a Parker fan club newsletter as of Friday.)

This in-game promo the Hawks are doing with streetball legend Hot Sauce is incredible, and Monday’s edition is a perfect example of why.

The Nuggets had a chance to beat the Celtics in Denver...but didn’t call a timeout to set up a final play and ended up losing. Richard Jefferson’s reaction is priceless. Many support not calling the timeout on a live ball and letting your players go win the game amid transition chaos. I’m not sure the Nuggets are quite the platform for that strategy. That said, Boston’s so good defensively that calling a timeout might not have helped at all, even for an odd team like Denver.

The Lakers have been playing pretty well of late. Should they hold onto Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson at the trade deadline, then?

If you’re hoping for a full DeMarcus Cousins recovery, you do not want to read Elton Brand’s account of rehabilitating from a torn Achilles.

Never party with Benny the Bull.

Jeff Teague was back in Atlanta on Monday, where he’d once been an All-Star. Boy did he have a rough game capped off by a really rough final minute.

TNT’s Tuesday games feature the Pistons (vs. Cavaliers at 8 p.m. ET) and Clippers (vs. Blazers at 10:30). That’s...bad. None of the dudes in the trade is likely to be available. At least the broadcasters (it’s a Players Only night) will have plenty to discuss. (Thunder vs. Wizards at 7 and Raptors vs. Timberwolves at 7:30 on League Pass for the real ones.)

And finally: a hero in New Orleans in Pelicans practice gear snuck onto the court during warm-ups to stretch and get a shot off before security realized he was not the latest G League call-up and escorted him away. (We do not condone going onto the court uninvited. But if you’re going to do it, get us a funny and not scary viral clip out of it at least, OK?)

Be excellent to each other.