Clippers Hope Blake Griffin Will Help Boost Franchise's Fortunes

Clippers Expected To Select Griffin With No. 1 Pick Tonight

KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GETTING INTO: ESPN.com's Bill Simmons in an open letter to Griffin wrote, "You're entering a world of 'Tonight Show' putdowns and half-empty buildings. You're playing for the worst possible owner and the worst possible coach for the Lakers' ugly stepbrother in Los Angeles. You're dealing with a dwindling fan base that's almost supernaturally depressed at this point." Clippers Owner Donald Sterling is the "old guy who sits midcourt, dresses like a nightclub singer, surrounds himself with cougars, loves Koreans and enters the locker room once a year to scream at everyone" (ESPN.com, 6/24). USA TODAY's Mike Lopresti writes the "honor/penalty of becoming the newest Clipper" is there are "no big shoes to fill." Griffin's "task is to get this all turned around." But "new faces have been trying to do that for generations," and it has been "like trying to turn off a volcano" (USATODAY.com, 6/24).

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