Clippers at a crossroads after Blake Griffin injury
Blake Griffin
Blake Griffin âs injury Monday night serves as the end of an era for the Clippers â one that was good  but not as good as it couldâve been. (Jae C. Hong/AP)
As  Blake Griffin  limped off the court at Staples Center on Monday night  the best era in Los Angeles Clippers history left with  him .
Some of the faces remain â at least for now. Doc Rivers is still the coach  and DeAndre Jordan is the starting center.  Griffin   meanwhile  is in the first year of a five-year max contract  and the MCL sprain  he  suffered Monday night when Austin Rivers fell into  his  leg will only keep  him  out of the lineup for a couple of months  as opposed to the rest of the season.
The writing on the wall for this run ended when Paul left for Houston this summer  as Redick followed him out the door to Philadelphia shortly thereafter. Even though the Clippers did well in getting a nice haul for Paul â Patrick Beverley  Sam Dekker  Montrezl Harrell and a 2018 first-round pick â while keeping  Griffin  and signing Danilo Gallinari and Milos Teodosic in free agency  it felt like a roster that didnât fit together. It was also heavily reliant on several players with significant injury questions in  Griffin   Beverley  Gallinari and Teodosic.
Now all four of them are on the shelf â Beverley for the season following knee surgery  Griffin for the next two months  Teodosic for at least another month and Gallinari for at least another week. Whatâs also on the shelf is any hope of these Clippers making the playoffs  as it seems impossible theyâll be able to remain within striking distance of a playoff spot until  Griffin  comes back.
Rivers has been rumored in NBA circles to be on the verge of losing his job for weeks as the Clippers have floundered to start the season (and after he was demoted from running the basketball operations department this summer)  and those rumors will only intensify if the Clippers fall even further with  Griffin  sidelined. Meanwhile  Jordanâs name is coming up in trade conversations  though it could be difficult to find a landing spot that returns any kind of real value â at least without taking on bad deals for more years than Jordanâs expiring contract. Lou Williams  a talented scorer on an expiring deal  also feels like a piece that could be moved to a contender to bring some kind of assets back  and while moving on from Gallinari would be wise  his price tag (two more years at more than $20 million per) and injury history will make doing so difficult.
The Clippers have transformed from a laughingstock to a contender over the past several years  a once unthinkable change for a franchise that was defined for so long by dysfunction and embarrassment. Monday  though  that run officially came to an end when Blake Griffin trudged off the floor at Staples Center and into the locker room  leaving a trail of what-ifs about the past and uncertainties about the future.
Blake Griffin âs injury Monday night serves as the end of an era for the Clippers â one that was good  but not as good as it couldâve been. (Jae C. Hong/AP)
As   [TGT] limped off the court at Staples Center on Monday night  the best era in Los Angeles Clippers history left with   [TGT]  .
Some of the faces remain â at least for now. Doc Rivers is still the coach  and DeAndre Jordan is the starting center.   [TGT] meanwhile  is in the first year of a five-year max contract  and the MCL sprain   [TGT]   suffered Monday night when Austin Rivers fell into   [TGT]   leg will only keep   [TGT]   out of the lineup for a couple of months  as opposed to the rest of the season.
The writing on the wall for this run ended when Paul left for Houston this summer  as Redick followed him out the door to Philadelphia shortly thereafter. Even though the Clippers did well in getting a nice haul for Paul â Patrick Beverley  Sam Dekker  Montrezl Harrell and a 2018 first-round pick â while keeping   [TGT] and signing Danilo Gallinari and Milos Teodosic in free agency  it felt like a roster that didnât fit together. It was also heavily reliant on several players with significant injury questions in   [TGT] Beverley  Gallinari and Teodosic.
Now all four of them are on the shelf â Beverley for the season following knee surgery  Griffin for the next two months  Teodosic for at least another month and Gallinari for at least another week. Whatâs also on the shelf is any hope of these Clippers making the playoffs  as it seems impossible theyâll be able to remain within striking distance of a playoff spot until   [TGT] comes back.
Rivers has been rumored in NBA circles to be on the verge of losing  [TGT]  job for weeks as the Clippers have floundered to start the season (and after  [TGT]  was demoted from running the basketball operations department this summer)  and those rumors will only intensify if the Clippers fall even further with   [TGT] sidelined. Meanwhile  Jordanâs name is coming up in trade conversations  though it could be difficult to find a landing spot that returns any kind of real value â at least without taking on bad deals for more years than Jordanâs expiring contract. Lou Williams  a talented scorer on an expiring deal  also feels like a piece that could be moved to a contender to bring some kind of assets back  and while moving on from Gallinari would be wise  his price tag (two more years at more than $20 million per) and injury history will make doing so difficult.
The Clippers have transformed from a laughingstock to a contender over the past several years  a once unthinkable change for a franchise that was defined for so long by dysfunction and embarrassment. Monday  though  that run officially came to an end when  [TGT]  trudged off the floor at Staples Center and into the locker room  leaving a trail of what-ifs about the past and uncertainties about the future.