Blake Griffin’s been with a talented teammate or three even when he was in his prime. The Lob City Clipper days when he was a high-flying power forward soaring above the rim are no more, but he’s carved out a role player spot in the league.
It just so happens to be the Nets, arguably the most talented team ever assembled in the league. Brooklyn boasts the likes of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden, which is bolstered by a solid surrounding cast that includes Griffin.
That’s a superteam, the most recent iteration of its kind in the last decade. Griffin brought up an interesting point when he made an appearance on J.J. Redick’s podcast “The Old Man and the Three” when talking about superteams. He claimed the Celtics were the first ones to do it ahead of the 2007-08 season.
“I think it’s really funny like, everybody really s--- on LeBron (James),” Griffin said. “LeBron was kind of the first guy everybody s--- on for joining (a superteam in Miami). The Celtics did it — they brought (Kevin Garnett) and Ray Allen to team up with Paul Pierce.”
Of course, situations were a tad different in the formation of those teams. The Celtics undoubtedly had one of the most talented squads in the league, going from 24 wins to 66 victories and an NBA championship in 2008.
But as Redick pointed out, the Celtics were built through the trade market. Then-Boston president Danny Ainge swung deals to acquire Allen and Garnett, finally getting the pieces around Pierce.
James and the Heat were a different story. He joined forces with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade in Miami when all three were free agents, discussing the plan years in advance. James hitting free agency that specific summer was even some crafty contract manueving when he was still with the Cavs.
Redick surmised that James joining forces to create his own superteam was the start of the player empowerment era. There have been some excellent teams in the decade since, with the Nets being the most recent example.
Pierce said about the same when talking about his career during his Hall of Fame press conference last week.
“Players move around a lot,” Pierce said. “They manufacture their teams. The way we did it was a little different. People will say, ‘Oh, I played on the new era superteam.’ But we had to get lucky.
“We got lucky with the draft pick, we got lucky with the trade, we got lucky with Kevin Garnett dropping his no-trade clause. All these things had to line up. Whereas today, they manufacture playing with each other, building superteams through free agency, building friendships. I have nothing against that. That’s why I take so much pride in being with the team.”
The Celtics ended up being affected by those superteams just a few years ago when Irving left Boston to join forces with Durant. Now, the Nets originally had an impressive duo with Durant and Irving already in Brooklyn, setting them up for contention.
But what pushed them over the edge was trading for Harden from Houston. In fairness, the Nets also needed a bit of luck to form their own superteam by getting the third member of the Big 3. The core of that team, though, came from Irving and Durant deciding to partner up when they were both free agents.
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Blake Griffin said the Boston Celtics were the original superteam when they won the NBA title in 2008 - MassLive.com
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