NBA: Biggest Winners & Losers of the Blake Griffin to Detroit Deal

So despite all the trade rumors surrounding DeAndre Jordan and Lou Williams, it was Blake Griffin that was traded first from the LA Clippers' locker room.

In a report by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Clippers traded Griffin along with Brice Johnson and Willie Reed to Detroit in exchange for Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjonavic and a couple of draft picks (a heavily protected 2018 first-round pick and an unprotected pick in the second round in 2021). The protections on the Pistons' 2018 pick include 1-4 in 2018, 2019 and 2020 before finally becoming unprotected in 2021.

This is a big deal. Griffin might not have made it to the previous two All-Star games and All-NBA teams due to injuries but when healthy, he is easily one of the top 15 players in the league.

So before it get's too late, let's break down the deal and assesses it's winners and losers:

LOSER: Andre Drummond and Danilo Gallinari

Andre Drummond and Danilo Gallinari

So these are the two biggest players, that are not involved in the trade, to be losers. Both, Andre Drummond and Danilo Gallinari are bound to see a huge dip in their minutes per game. And a lot of that is got to do with the players their respective teams acquired through the trade - Griffin and Harris.

Not that Drummond isn't key to the Pistons' roster but his effectiveness reduces a lot the moment you mention the fact that he can't shoot. He is primarily on the court to play the rebounder role and herald the team's defense - highest ranked player in Defensive Efficiency and top-ranked player in Defensive Box Plus/Minus - but offensively there is not a lot he can't do by himself. In the modern NBA, players that are effective on only one end of the floor will eventually be taken to class. In addition, Blake Griffin is a far better small-ball center, maybe not purely from a defensive standpoint but overall.

Drummond says "no longer a foe" but Griffin is definitely going to eat into a lot of Drummond's center minutes.

Now, getting to Galo. Tobias Harris is going to most probably get top priority at the position. He is basically a younger, less-injury prone version of Gallinari. He might not be as good of a shooter but that can't be taught and Harris has shown constant improvement in his shooting percentages. Moreover, he fits the bill for the Clippers - a talented player approaching his prime who could be a big part of the team's going young approach to a rebuild.

WINNER: LOS ANGELES LAKERS

Los Angeles Lakers Introduce their No.2 overall pick Lonzo Ball

Wojnarowski further reported, that according to his league sources, the Clippers are looking for trade packages for DeAndre Jordan and Lou Williams, which more or less puts the franchise on the path of a rebuild. That's something the Los Angeles Lakers have been doing for quite a while but finally with some more seriousness this season with the likes of Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Lonzo Ball.

Even with all their rich history of 17 NBA Championships, the Lakers have played second fiddle in the Tinseltown to the Clippers for the better part of this decade. Since letting go of the old management, and hiring Magic Johnson (President of Basketball Operations) and Rob Pelinka (General Manager), there seems to be some credible direction to their rebuild.

With this trade, the Clippers are pressing the reset button having traded their most talented player and the Lakers might finally be more relevant from the product on the court standpoint.

LOSER: BLAKE GRIFFIN

Blake Griffin signed a 5-year $171 million dollar deal this past summer with the Clippers

You might be wondering how Griffin is a loser if he is still pocketing the money that signed for this past offseason. Not only is he pocketing his $29.5 million already but he gets an extra $215,000 each of the remaining years of his deal with a 15% trade kicker being activated due to this deal.

So from a money point of view, Griffin has nothing to lose but his extra circular activities, his game and recognition are most definitely going to see a hit staying in the relatively small market town of Detroit.

Over the past one year, the 5-time All-Star made multiple appearances on across popular talk shows in the country alongside hosts like James Corden, Jimmy Fallon. Not to mention, him hosting and curating a stand-up comedy show for a small list of VIP audience. He's going to lose a chance to do all of that during the season. Staying in Detroit, all this would only be possible in the off-season.

Last but not least is Griffin's deal with Air Jordan. Although the sneaker sales might go up for the region of Detroit, marketing them will take a hit which will adversely affect his overall value to the brand.

Basketball-wise, it's a chance for a fresh start. The remaining games of this season would be used by him and the franchise to come on the same page regarding playing style and understanding before possibly unleashing and improving as a team next season.

WINNER: LA CLIPPERS

Current LA Clippers head coach Doc Rivers

The Clippers organization knew what they were getting into when they offered Griffin that huge contract that he signed this past offseason. Despite his injury concerns and few off-court problems, Griffin was younger and the organization had made a plan to choose him over Chris Paul.

As can be seen with various current teams in the league right now, franchises that want to rebuild get stuck due to bad contracts and a lack of draft picks. This trade has addressed both these issues for the Clippers. They receive a huge cap relief with Griffin's contract off their books and in return not only get young promising players but also a couple of draft picks, which are essential in team building in the current salary cap system of the league.

BOTH: DETROIT PISTONS

Detroit Pistons head coach and President of Basketball Operations - Stan Van Gundy

Short term: WINNER; Long-term: LOSER

For the next three years, the Pistons have an average close to $60 million dollars locked up in just their frontcourt (Griffin and Drummond). Given the current cap, that might not be a very big problem but eventually, they have to start signing players off of their rookie contracts and that's when this trade might come back to bite them.

Rarely or hardly ever do free agents choose Detroit as their choice so from the franchise's point of view, this was the only way to land an All-Star caliber player even if he commands an average of $34 million dollars over the next four years.

The team might certainly benefit from Griffin's infusion into the locker room. It should help them get out of their current funk where they have lost 23 of their last 35 games including the last eight. Given how popular he is, the Pistons organization might also benefit from better ticket sales in their new arena - Little Caesar's Arena, something that has been quite an issue for them since the start of the season.

These benefits, however, are only short-term gains. In the last two years' of his contract, at the age of 30 and 31, Griffin is slated to receive an average of $37 million. It's a good buy if he's healthy, which is the cause for concern. In each of the last three seasons (2017-18 included), Griffin has missed a ton of time due to injuries, sometimes needing to recover and rehab from two in a single calendar year.

With Griffin's injury-prone history and Drummond's one-sided play, Pistons might not have a long bright future ahead, given that these are their two highest paid players for the next three years at least.