Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin has agreed to a five-year contract extension,
a source with knowledge of the situation told ESPNLosAngeles.com.
The extension had been expected as sources had told ESPNLosAngeles.com earlier this
month that Griffin had informed team officials that he intended to sign an extension with
the club. Griffin could earn as much as $95 million over the course of the five-year exten-
sion if he is voted an All-Star starter again or named to a second All-NBA team next season
under the so-called “Derrick Rose Rule” in the new collective bargaining agreement. The
rule allows a player finishing his rookie contract to make 30 percent of a team’s salary cap
– up from 25 percent — if he’s twice been voted an All-Star starter, twice been voted All-NBA
or won an MVP award. Under another clause in the new CBA, rookies may extend their
contracts by four years. However, a team may designate one player to sign a five-year exten-
sion. Griffin was always going to be the Clippers’ designated player, according to sources
within the organization. However, had Eric Gordon not been traded to the New Orleans
Hornets last December as part of the Paul trade, it might have created a problem. With
Griffin the only player on the Clippers’ roster in line for such an extension and his place
in the league firmly established — he was the rookie of the year in 2011, as well as a two-
time All-Star — he will receive the designation. Griffin’s extension would begin with the
2013-14 season. He would be able to opt out of the final season of the contract but is other-
wise committed to the franchise through 2018. Since drafting Griffin No. 1 overall in 2009,
the Clippers have tried to surround him with a mix of talented young players and veterans
that could help him succeed and the franchise to win. That process accelerated last season
when the Clippers acquired All-Star point guards Chris Paul and Chauncey Billups and
signed small forward Caron Butler. The Clippers finished fifth in the Western Conference
and advanced to the second round of the playoffs, where they were swept by the San Antonio
Spurs. The Clippers have added forward Lamar Odom and guard Jamal Crawford so far this
summer. “I feel good about them (the Clippers),” Griffin told ESPNLosAngeles last weekend
at Team USA’s training camp in Las Vegas. “Like I’ve said, everything’s been positive. Every-
thing’s been moving forward. It’s been a good experience. I’m not a believer in breaking up
something that’s working.” As for Paul, Griffin said he didn’t read much into his decision to
wait on signing an extension with the team. “I didn’t expect him to re-sign this summer,”
Griffin said. “I don’t think anybody who knows anything about it did. But we’ll work on that
throughout the season.” Paul was eligible to sign a three-year, $60 million extension this
summer. However, he can sign a five-year, $108 million extension next summer. “I’ll wait
until next summer to decide everything,” Paul told ESPNLosAngeles.com. “It’s funny, ESPN
doesn’t put at the bottom of the ticker, like why you don’t do the three-year. But I opted in
for this year or I would’ve had the opportunity to do that again this summer.” Paul was re-
ferring to a decision he made to amend a provision in his previous contract that would’ve
given him the opportunity to opt out after this season. The Clippers requested this before
they agreed to a multiplayer trade for Paul with the New Orleans Hornets. Paul agreed to
amend his contract after initial discussions with former general manager Neil Olshey,
who’d been given permission by the Hornets to speak with him before the trade was com-
pleted.
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