Blake Griffin was traded from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Detroit Pistons in late January. In an interview with Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated now told Griffin that he wouldn’t worry about the reasons, but he also taunted his old employer a little.
“I haven’t thought much about it yet,” Griffin said when asked what might have moved the Clippers to this trade, “I have enough to do with getting used to the new environment. I never wanted to be in a place where I wasn’t appreciated. “When I first came here, I realized what a franchise was supposed to look like.”
Griffin’s trade had a bitter aftertaste, as the Clippers had just handed the Power Forward a new contract, announcing that Griffin’s number would one day be pulled under the ceiling. Later Griffin learned about the trade through the social media, not through those responsible.
“Many people say basketball is a business. But it’s different when you’ve worked with certain people for so long and built a relationship,” Griffin continued, “then you’re shown a long-term plan and six months later… It shows the true face of people and made me realize that it really is just business.”