I would absolutely have to say Mike Conley has had the most impact. Not to take anything away from all of the mentioned above. CP3 and Griffin have played very well. Tony Allen has been awesome but It has just so very important for the Griz to have Conley.
Even IF Griffin was better v. LMA (which Griffin is NOT...), I would never want Griffin here. Portland is a NO FLOP ZONE & this is the way it will stay forever!
Skill Wise, I agree. I agree with the post that Griffin's game and what he produces hinges on his athletic ability. And unless he starts to round out his game and maybe comes up with a back to the basket post game. His life as a pro will emulate very close to that of Shawn Kemp's whose game was predicated on his athletic ability. But if it was choice between he in a sign and trade for LA or Love. I would choose Griffin.
I'd obviously do a LA for Griffin deal, but given our luck and the way Blake plays, he'd probably go down with a knee injury and we'll face a microfracture just weeks after he comes here
You put Aldridge on the Clippers and they are much much better! Griffin is a product of CP3 and an awesome defensive center.
More rounded? What do you want him to do, dish for 6 assists per game instead of 5? Shoot more 3pt shots? Develop an even better outside shot? (from 16' he's .404 to aldridge's .415).
If Lamarcus wants to leave and we are talking a S&T to accommodate him, we could do a heck of a lot worse than Blake Griffin.
Griffin put up 23/12 the season he didn't have cp3. He also put up a triple double without cp3 (twice?) in this post season. Guy is a growing beast.
When he posted those numbers, the Clippers were a lotto team. I'm going to go in full throttle debate mode on a Aldridge vs. Blake tangent. What I do know is Aldridge absolutely schools Blake when they meet head to head. In fact, usually Jordan is defending Aldridge because Blake wants no part of defending Aldridge. Also, Blake can't post up worth a shit on Aldridge either. It's actually really funny to watch.
Blakes rebounding has fallen each year. But Jordans rebounding has gone up each of those years as well.
You wouldn't support him if he were a Blazer? As much as people hate him, he is a top 15-20 player and is a huge endorsement grabber.
Fwiw, Blake's Kia commercials are done in the summer. Having said that, this "rumor" is still a hypothetical that Stein pulled out of his ass.
If Aldridge really wanted to leave, I would hope he'd be willing to help the Blazers out then vice versa. If LA was one of the destinations on Aldridge's list I wouldn't be mad if they were looking to make the swap. I of course hope that Neil would look at all options though. I would love to get DeAndre Jordan though!