Doc Rivers called out ESPN for fabricating a trade rumor about Carmelo Anthony and Blake Griffin.
On Friday, ESPN’s Chris Broussard wrote that the New York Knicks were thinking about approaching the Clippers about offering a ‘Melo for Blake trade. Here’s what he wrote:
Sources say Clippers management also has had internal discussions about such a deal but that the clubs have not yet spoken to one another about a potential trade.
As of now, neither team is certain it would make an Anthony-for-Griffin trade, the sources said.
I mean seriously, how dumb is that? First off, everybody knows the Clippers wouldn’t trade Blake for Carmelo. Blake’s younger, better and cheaper. Secondly, if the teams haven’t even talked with each other about the trade, what makes this news? Thirdly, Broussard even admitted that the Clippers don’t want to do the trade. Isn’t that enough to tell you there isn’t a story here?
This was absolutely a dumb story, so Rivers rightfully called out ESPN for publicizing it.
“Please, this is stupid,” Rivers said Saturday.
“If you’re the Knicks or whoever, would you want Blake Griffin? I would,” he said. “So I don’t see what the story is.”
Rivers also said that if you called any team in the league, they would express interest in Blake. He’s probably right about that, too, which makes the report even dumber.
But Rivers called out another thing ESPN does — create news so that they can discuss it on their network.
“My whole issue with any of that CRAP is that that network (ESPN) to me reports a story that they created,” Rivers said, via LA Times Clippers reporter Brad Turner. “Then they do reports on it for the next two days, on a story that they created. But it’s stupid.”
It absolutely is stupid. The Knicks thinking about asking the Clippers for a ‘Melo for Blake trade doesn’t qualify as a trade rumor. It’s nothing. It’s like me saying I’d hook up with Sydney Leroux if I had the chance. That’s not news.
