NBA Trade Rumors: Clippers To Pursue Blake Griffin For Kevin Durant Trade

NBA Trade Rumors: With Kevin Durant hitting the open market this summer, the Los Angeles Clippers intend on pursuing a Blake Griffin for Kevin Durant trade

The most important free agency since 2010 – when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh changed the NBA – is merely months away. And teams are beginning to situate themselves in anticipation.

While the report of the Golden State Warriors becoming the “favorites” for landing Kevin Durant should he leave the Oklahoma City Thunder this summer surfaced, there was a second part to that report that triggered interest for those trying to map out where Durant will be calling his home a few months from now.

According to Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Los Angeles Clippers could jump into the Durant sweepstakes. That’s, of course, if they can generate enough interest in playing for the “other” Los Angeles team. And playing next two Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan could be the next best thing to playing for the machine that the Golden State Warriors have transformed into.

And if Durant wants to, the Clippers have the means to facilitate a sign-and-trade – via Blake Griffin.

More from Sir Charles In Charge

"[via Yahoo]If the opportunity comes to move Blake Griffin and replace him with Durant, the Clippers won’t hesitate, sources said.Teams are calling on Griffin trades now, but Clippers president and coach Doc Rivers seems determined to play the year out with Griffin and see how far the team advances in the playoffs. Eventually, the Clippers will determine how intrigued Durant might be in becoming a Big Three with Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan.The Thunder would resist a sign-and-trade deal until the very end – until they were sure Durant was leaving them – but Griffin, an Oklahoma native, could be a fascinating part of that scenario."

This could be a win-win scenario for both Durant and the Thunder. Though, I’m not sure if Durant would see Paul as an upgrade to Russell Westbrook or Jordan over Serge Ibaka. Either way, it’s something for him to at least think about. I’m sure playing for a championship savvy coach like Doc Rivers would count for something, too.

For the Clippers side of things, there’s been a growing thought – mostly because Rivers has hinted at it – that this will be this core’s last run at an NBA Championship. Even if the Clippers don’t close the deal with Durant and facilitate the sign-and-trade deal, there’s still a good chance that Rivers decides to tinker with the core – and trading Griffin would probably be the easiest of the bunch to move.