Blake Griffin has been hitting the headlines lately for all the wrong reasons.
With belief that the All-Star forward is nearing a return to National Basketball Association (NBA) action, an off-court fracas involving him and the team's equipment manager has led to more time off due to a hand injury.
Griffin allegedly punched his friend and Clippers assistant equipment manager Matias Testi over an undisclosed argument and such ended up with the two having physical injuries.
Testi ended up with a swollen face, while Griffin ended up with a spiral fracture of the fourth metacarpal on his right hand. With the injury, Griffin will now be missing an additional four to six weeks and the timing couldn't have come at a worse time.
The Clippers have already had their share of struggles this season. With Griffin out, the woes of Doc Rivers' charges further worsened. Griffin is a vital cog for the Clippers but at some point, the team may have to re-evaluate if Griffin is indeed fit for the team.
This is not only to cover his actions but more on the team performance as a whole. As a player, he has proven to be a flexible player who can bully his way inside. To make it easier, the Clippers tried to get in some shooters to free up the middle. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened with Lance Stephenson and Paul Pierce.
So could the Clippers do it the other way around?
If they are not able to land shooters, then maybe they can look at other forwards who can do more than throw down the ball and operate inside the paint. Kevin Love has been mentioned in rumors as a good swap but it is unlikely that the Cavs would bite with Love's better all-around contributions to the game.
If Griffin would be put up in a trade, that is unlikely to happen by the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 18. If there are any plans of such, it will all likely go down by the end of the 2015–16 NBA season.
