Clippers forward Blake Griffin has been at large in trade rumors over the last few weeks as the trade deadline approaches this Thursday at 3:00 PM.
The Atlanta Hawks are reportedly in a strong position to land Griffin in a trade.
Following from Sam Amico at Amico Hoops:
The Hawks are said to be interested in trading for Clippers forward Blake Griffin, and most around the NBA believe they have the assets to make it happen.
Griffin “could be the Hawks’ new Dominique Wilkins,” one team executive suggested to Amico Hoops, with Griffin capable of lifting a fairly drab franchise both on the floor and at the gate.
According to Chris Broussard of ESPN, the Clippers offered Griffin and Lance Stephenson to Denver in exchange for Will Barton, Kenneth Faried, Nikola Jokic and Danilo Gallinari, but the Nuggets declined.
Clippers head coach and president of basketball operations, Doc Rivers, who has denied any possibility of trading Griffin, also denied that the offer to Denver was true, per Amico.
The Clippers are still waiting to have a healthy Griffin back in the lineup. He’s been out since Dec. 26 with a quadricep injury, which he was close to returning from before breaking his hand in a fight with assistant equipment manager Matias Testi on Jan. 23. Griffin will serve a four-game suspension for the incident when he’s active.
Will Griffin’s delayed timetable force the Clippers’ hand in making a deal this week? We’ll find out.
