All-Star power forward Blake Griffin is reportedly planning to stay with the Los Angeles Clippers for the long term as he wants to re-sign with the team even if he decides to become a free agent next summer.
The 27-year-old five-time NBA All-Star is entering the fourth year of his five-year, $94.5 million deal with the Clippers signed in the summer of 2013 which will earn him around $20 million next season.
Griffin's contract has an Early Termination Option (ETO) at the end of 2016-2017, which means he can choose unrestricted free agency next July, perhaps to test the market or to try and snag a much bigger deal than what he has right now.
NBA players are getting bigger contracts beginning this summer as the league's lucrative TV deal has become a factor. LeBron James has just received the biggest contract in the history of the NBA with his three-year, $100 million deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers while Mike Conley got a five-year, $152.6 million contract from the Memphis Grizzlies which earns him $34.5 million per season by the time the deal is done in 2020-2021.
Even a nobody like Timofey Mozgov snagged a four-year, $64 million salary from the Los Angeles Lakers ($16 million annually) and so it just makes sense for Griffin to try and get a bigger deal for himself next summer than the paltry $20 million a year he is enjoying at the moment.
However, Fansided reported that Griffin wants to re-sign with the Clippers even he opts out of his contract at the end of the coming season.
The 2011 NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion may just be merely want to upgrade his salary by being a free agent in July 2017 and so the report said that this latest development can put the trade rumors involving Griffin's name to a rest.
Chat Sports Net indicated of a possible Griffin for Kenneth Faried swap between the Clips and Denver Nuggets, but that trade scenario is highly unlikely to happen.
While the Nuggets have long been known to want to part ways with their high-energy forward, LA is evidently not ready to let go of their prized high-flyer.
Some reports even said that team president and head coach Doc Rivers wants Griffin to retire as a Clipper.