Clippers stay true to word and draft Blake Griffin

NEW YORK — Taking Blake Griffin with the No. 1 selection in the NBA draft was the incredibly simple move for the Clippers, the painfully easy open jumper, if you will.

Now comes the hard part.

"It's definitely going to take time, and it's not all about me," said Griffin on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

He was speaking minutes after the Clippers took him at No. 1, just the way General Manager and Coach Mike Dunleavy said they would do so back on the night of the draft lottery in May.

The 20-year-old from Oklahoma was accurate when he said it wasn't all about him.

So, who else will it be about? And who won't it be about?

Those will be the pressing questions in the giddy aftermath of Griffin's big night. The addition of Griffin at power forward creates something of a traffic jam up front for the Clippers, and there are several options to ease the congestion.

Injury-riddled center Chris Kaman, limited to 31 games last season, has been considered most likely of the three incumbent Clippers big men to be getting a ticket out of town, and he apparently has been telling friends that he thinks he will be traded.

Forward-center Marcus Camby, because of his expiring and reasonable contract, will always be an attractive target when teams call the Clippers, though nothing appears serious on that front.

There is, however, a surprising amount of interest in forward Zach Randolph, massive contract and all, but the Clippers, at least for now, are maintaining they are reluctant to trade a player consistently capable of scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds per game.

"We're in a very good position in that we have a lot of bigs that are very talented," Dunleavy said. "Right now, what we're just doing is trying to make a good basketball decision for us. We're patient and if something comes up that would be a good opportunity, then we'll look to take it."

A move, if there is one, would likely occur later in the summer, not when the free agency kicks off next week on July 1. Typically, trade talk heats up again when teams begin summer leagues.

The Clippers, and Griffin, will be playing in Las Vegas in mid-July. Griffin, whose older brother Taylor was drafted by the Suns in the second round, was certainly sounding eager to get back to the day job after a dizzying stretch.