Communications breakdown

Jim Rodriguez: It's a new world when it comes to social media

Jim Rodriguez: It's a new world when it comes to social media
Blake Griffin learned he was traded from social media. NBA.com

Here is what’s trending...your future.

It started on Monday when the Clippers decided to hit the reset button and trade Blake Griffin to the Pistons.

“Shocked” is how Griffin described it. 

After all, he was just months removed from signing a 5-year, 173 million dollar deal with Los Angeles. But it was more than the trade itself that blew Blake away. It is how he found out he was going from Lob City to the Motor City. Wait for it.... social media.

Griffin told ESPN: "Finding out through Twitter or through other people is a tough way to find out when you've been with a franchise for so long.” 

Seven and a half seasons to be exact. 

This is the same franchise that while trying to re-sign him last summer, had employees raise his number 32 jersey to the rafters at Staples Center symbolizing a future retirement ceremony.

The Clippers have every right to move a player, any player. Just like a player can veto a deal with a no-trade clause. But there is an uneasiness about this. No heads up, no conversations, nada. Here’s your stuff and peace out. 

I get that Griffin is a millionaire a hundred and seventy times over. Like that’s suppose to make it easy.

Think how freaked out you were when Facebook changed their page layout. Now try moving halfway across the country.. tomorrow. 

This is something that isn’t lost on LeBron James. The “King” dropped this dilly dilly on the media: 

"When a player gets traded, [the front office] was doing what was best for the franchise," James said. "But when a player decides to leave, he's not loyal, he's a snake, he's not committed.

"That's the narrative of how it goes. I know that firsthand."

Thank you LeBron. We’ll get to you later this summer. Maybe he’ll Facebook Live his Decision Part 2. 

Things got even wilder on Tuesday for corner back, Kendall Fuller. 

As news broke about the Chiefs trading quarterback, Alex Smith to Washington; a report said there was an “unidentified” player in the mix that was going to Kansas City. 

Fuller on his twitter account, @KeFu11er dropped these pearls as the identity of the player was coming to light: 

At 10:45pm on Jan 30, 2018: 

Awkward... 

14 minutes later:

Nahh its not me.. I don’t thinkk

Lol im on here tryna find out just like yaa

Three minutes after that (11:02pm):

Mannnnn im safe! I ain’t get traded 

Then an hour later. 12:09am, Fuller posts the meme of Homer Simpson backing up into bushes and disappearing: 

Me on Twitter after tweeting all that then finding out i got traded!

And a minute after that: 

Talk About A Night

Hell, I tilt my head like a puppy in confusion when my smart phone rings. I forget you can actually speak to someone on it. 

I’m sure a grandparent somewhere said that social media will be the death of us. I’ll take my chances. It’s far better than any show on TV. Plus it’s really crockpots that will kill us all. 

Can’t wait to see what’s next.

You can listen to my radio show, The Sports Bosses , weekdays at 9 a.m. on SBNation Radio.

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Welcome to Houston, Nick! Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.

Nick Chubb didn’t expect to be a Houston Texan. At least, not until he got the call on a quiet Saturday at home and was on a flight the next day. It happened fast — too fast, even, for the four-time Pro Bowler to fully process what it all meant. But now that he’s here, it’s clear this wasn’t a random landing spot. This was a calculated leap, one Chubb had been quietly considering from afar.

The reasons he chose Houston speak volumes not only about where Chubb is in his own career, but where the Texans are as a franchise.

For one, Chubb saw what the rest of the league saw the last two seasons: a young team turning the corner. He admired the Texans from a distance — the culture shift under head coach DeMeco Ryans, the explosive rise of C.J. Stroud, and the physical tone set by players like Joe Mixon. That identity clicked with Chubb. He’d been a fan of Ryans for years, and once he got in the building, everything aligned.

“I came here and saw a bunch of guys who like to work and not talk,” Chubb said. “And I realized I'm a perfect fit.”

As for his health, Chubb isn’t running from the injuries that cost him parts of the past two seasons, he’s owning them. But now, he says, they’re behind him. After a full offseason of training the way he always has — hitting his speed and strength benchmarks — Chubb says he’s feeling the best he has in years. He’s quick to remind people that bouncing back from major injuries, especially the one he suffered in 2023, is rarely a one-year journey. It takes time. He’s given it time.

Then there’s his fit with Mixon. The two aren’t just stylistic complements, they go way back. Same recruiting class, same reputation for running hard, same respect for each other’s games. Chubb remembers dreading matchups against the Bengals in Cleveland, worrying Mixon would take over the game. Now, he sees the opportunity in pairing up. “It’ll be us kinda doing that back-to-back against other defenses,” he said.

He’s also well aware of what C.J. Stroud brings to the table. Chubb watched Stroud nearly dismantle Georgia in the College Football Playoff. Then he saw it again, up close, when Stroud lit up the Browns in the postseason. “He torched us again,” Chubb said. Now, he gets to run alongside him, not against him.

Stroud made a point to welcome Chubb, exchanging numbers and offering support. It may seem like a small thing, but it’s the kind of leadership that helped sell Chubb on the Texans as more than just a good football fit — it’s a good locker room fit, too.

It appears the decision to come to Houston wasn’t part of some master plan. But in retrospect, it makes perfect sense. Chubb is a player with a no-nonsense work ethic, recovering from adversity, looking to write the next chapter of a career that’s far from over. And the Texans? They’re a team on the rise, built around guys who want to do the same.

You can watch the full interview in the video below.

And for those wondering how Joe Mixon feels about Nick Chubb, check out this video from last season. Let's just say he's a fan.


*ChatGPT assisted.

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