Blake Griffin hints he’s open to Clippers return

The fallout from the trade that sent Blake Griffin to the Detroit Pistons in 2018 is well-documented, and for that reason, the idea that Griffin would ever return to the Los Angeles Clippers has been laughable for the last four years. However, a tweet Griffin liked on Tuesday suggests he’s open to it.

Griffin isn’t the star player that Clippers fans once knew, and at various points during the 2021-22 campaign, he hardly looked like a rotation-level player, but the now 33-year-old forward ended the season on a high note. In the Brooklyn Nets’ 116-112 loss to the Boston Celtics on Monday, Griffin was a +10 in the box score even though he went 0-3 from the field.

As things stand, the Clippers have no shortage of versatility at the forward positions with Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Nicolas Batum, Marcus Morris and Robert Covington, but in the event that Morris is moved for an upgrade at point guard or Covington leaves in free agency, Griffin could be someone the front office considers for cheap forward depth.

Griffin’s role with the team would depend on a lot of factors, including his fitness, but it’s not hard to imagine him thriving in a limited role next to star players that can hide him on the defensive end and create open looks for him from behind the 3-point line and at the rim. Again, Griffin would have to find that type of role attractive in order for a reunion to work, but the fact that this is even a conversation is insane considering all that’s transpired since 2018.