Clippers Introduce Blake Griffin
Press Conference Video
CLIPPERS HEAD COACH MIKE DUNLEAVY:
"Thank you all so much for coming. This is a very exciting day for us. We finally have the opportunity to introduce Blake [Griffin] to the city of Los Angeles. The greater news is that we were in the gym Saturday and this morning, and things went very well. This is the first off-season that we have had this training facility open for our young guys like Eric Gordon, DeAndre Jordan, Mike Taylor and Al Thornton. I cannot say how happy I was to be in Barcelona scouting and to hear the news of the Clippers getting the first pick in the draft. Hearing that allowed me to sleep easily and to head back home. We are very excited to add Blake [Griffin] to our team and happy to have his parents here in support of him as well."
CLIPPERS ROOKIE FORWARD BLAKE GRIFFIN:
On his goals for this season...
“As a team, the goal is definitely to be in the playoffs. To get to the postseason you really have to have great chemistry. Personally my goal is to contribute, and to win Rookie of the Year.”
On being the face of the franchise...
“I’m excited about it. It’s a great opportunity for me and it’s something that I’m not going to shy away from at all.”
On his influences and motivation...
"My parents have definitely been a huge influence on my life. They are two of the hardest working people I have ever been around. Playing for my dad growing up was one of the best things ever for me because he pushed me so hard where another coach might have been scared to do that. To have my dad around and to have my mom be the strong woman that she is really set an example for me and my brother growing up. My parents have been huge leaders in my life. In regards to the team and the culture of it; I just want to work hard everyday. I feel like with hard work comes great opportunities and that is the type of mindset that I want to bring to the team"
Clippers.com
Post Press Conference Interviews (Video)
Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon, on being recognized, workouts
Blake Griffin, on rookie hazing, tips for rookies and plays
Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon, on the Lakers, L.A. Oklahoma
Blake Griffin on his work ethic
Blake Griffin, on expectations and explosiveness
Blake Griffin on playing other sports growing up
Blake Griffin, on baseball and Matt Kemp
LA Times
Clippers Welcome Top Pick Griffin
"He's somewhere between Charles Barkley's explosiveness and ability to rebound" and "Tim Duncan's size and ballhandling skills out on the floor" Dunleavy said of Griffin, 20, after introducing him to a crowd of several hundred at the Clippers' new workout facility in Playa Vista.
The 6-foot-10 Oklahoma product and consensus national player of the year averaged 22.7 points a game and 14.4 rebounds, recorded 30 double-doubles this past season, the second highest all-time in NCAA history to David Robinson's 31.
"He'll be on a long leash.," Dunleavy said. "I'm not afraid to play rookies."
Griffin said he's not putting pressure on himself. But he does plan to come in and work hard.
"I don't plan on being the savior," he said, after arriving in town Friday.
He's already worked out twice with his new teammates Eric Gordon, DeAndre Jordan and Mike Taylor, and already felt like he was fitting in.
NBA.com
The New Guy...and the Old New Guy
There were times last season as a shy, undemonstrative 20-year-old when Gordon appeared uncomfortable off the court in front of a media scrum. Today, he beamed alongside his new teammate. When a Clippers’ PR rep motioned to him that he didn’t have to take questions at Griffin’s event if he didn’t want to, Gordon was unfazed — that’s because he was having a blast as the grizzled vet at Griffin’s party. Eric Gordon could finally talk about something other than the burdens and undertakings of…Eric Gordon. All he was asked to address were the prospects of one Blake Griffin — and he couldn’t have been any cheerier.
Gordon made a personal no-hazing pledge to Griffin today. “I ain’t going to do that,” Gordon said. “It ain’t my style.”
Although the event was undoubtedly about Griffin, Gordon’s presence lent a real-world and unscripted context to an otherwise produced event. Griffin’s accomplishments in his rookie year will invariably be judged on his ability to integrate. The Clippers have enough individual talents, they need guys who can create alchemy with guys like Gordon.
Griffin seems to recognize that. So does Gordon. Asked how he planned to utilize Griffin in a two-man game, Gordon smiled.
“Throw it up in the air,” Gordon said. “That’s all, because you know he’s going to catch one.”
Kevin Arnovitz, Clipperblog
Clippers' No. 1 pick Griffin rolls up sleeves and gets to work
Clippers assistant general manager Neil Olshey's phone rang at 8:30a.m. Saturday.
Surprise, surprise. It was Blake Griffin.
The newest Clipper, selected first overall in Thursday's NBA draft after more than a month of buildup, had flown into Los Angeles and was ready to get to work.
"I got a call from him asking if I could track down the strength and conditioning coaches to get him into the gym," Olshey said. "And by 11a.m. he went through a full weight workout, got treatment, was on the floor for two hours and was right back at it again.
"How many guys," Olshey asked, "are going to get a full 2-hour workout in prior to their press conference?"
It's unusual, to say the least, and Tommy and Gail Griffin, Blake's parents, couldn't be happier. The couple was beaming throughout their son's introductory news conference at the Clippers practice facility Monday.
"The thing with Blake is that he's not gonna give up, he's always gonna work hard and make the best of his God-given talents," Tommy Griffin said. "But he also knows that nothing is going to be achieved by his talent alone."
Pedro Moura, Daily News
Blake Griffin is working on fitting in
Can he do the same in L.A.? Can he turn around the Clippers?
"That's definitely the goal," he says. "The goal is to come in here and try. We don't want to be complacent with where we're at.
"He'll have a big leash," Dunleavy said. "Let him run. If he gets tired, we'll pull him back in."
During those games, rebounding will be the first priority, and Dunleavy wants Griffin to develop a pick-and-roll game, like the one he got from Elton Brand. After that, a mid-range jump shot and, eventually, a 15-foot-bank shot.
Dunleavy didn't aim low on comparisons.
"I feel like he's a cross between Charles Barkley and Tim Duncan," Dunleavy said. "He's bigger than Barkley, but he has the quick first step like Barkley, the explosion like Barkley, the big hands like Barkley. He's got the size, the demeanor of a Tim Duncan, the work ethic."
Work ethic, indeed. Griffin finally got to L.A. from New York late Friday, after missing a flight and being delayed on another.
The next morning at 9, Dunleavy and his staff got word that Griffin wanted to work out. So, at 10 a.m., Griffin was in the gym. Same thing Sunday, same thing Monday.
"This is my job now," Griffin said. "College, I had class, whatever. Now, it's a business, and that's the way I look at it."
Baxter Holmes, LA Times
