Los Angeles Clippers' Blake Griffin insists he isn't soft and will fight you to prove it - off the court. While the All-Star forward was busy defending his toughness to ESPN, Chris Paul inked a five-year, $107 million contract with the Clips.
The perception is that Griffin is soft. Chauncey Billups and Zach Randolph both have intimated as much, and ESPN pundits Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless flat out said it. Griffin comes across as a nice guy, but he doesn't retaliate against cheap shots and it's earned him the reputation of being a softy. Teams feel they can get physical with Griffin and put him off his game (see: Griffin vs. Randolph in the 2013 playoffs).
In an interview with ESPN, Griffin dismissed the criticism.
"I've never really worried about being called soft or people thinking I'm soft," Griffin said on Wednesday. "If anybody wants to step and take that challenge I'm more than happy - off the court - because I don't want to get suspended.
"It's not something that I dwell on. I've never really had a problem with being soft."
Billups discussed Griffin last month on ESPN's "First Take," where he described Griffin as being too nice to retaliate against someone.
"Blake is not really built like that," Billups said. "He's ... too soft of a guy inside for him to be like, 'All right, I'm just going to hurt somebody.' He just won't do it. I wish he would, and I think that people would look at him a lot different if he did that. But he's just not that kind of person."
Griffin's teammate Chris Paul, meanwhile, committed himself long-term to the Clippers. On Wednesday, the first day free agents are eligible to sign contracts, Paul inked a five-year deal worth $107 million with the Clippers.
The max deal provides the All-Star guard with an early termination option after four years, according to NBC Sports. The Clippers' acquisition of coach Doc Rivers appeared to be the deciding factor for Paul, who averaged 16.9 points and 9.7 assists last season.
Asked of his role in re-signing Paul, Griffin said: "I think we've done our job to show him I think we can win here."
