Blake Griffin done for the Year

How was that for a first season in Los Angeles? Blake Griffin, who was selected first overall by the Clippers in the 2009 NBA draft, will undergo surgery on his left patella, which will force him to miss the next 4-to-6 months and effectively end his season.

Griffin showed promise in the preseason and summer league, dominating lesser competition, but the fairly tail ended on October 23, 2009, when Griffin injured his kneecap while dunking in the team’s final preseason game. After resting the stress fracture for several weeks, the former Oklahoma City Thunder star recently increased his workload in rehabilitation by running on a treadmill.

However, team doctors determined that Griffin’s knee wasn’t healing properly after he felt discomfort jumping into a swimming pool. The pool exercises were part of the last hurdles to be cleared before Griffin could rejoin the Clippers in practice. He has been a constant presence at Los Angeles Clippers games and in film sessions during his injury.

“It’s a little disappointing, because he brings so much to the table,” Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said on a conference call.

“As a group, we’re coming together better all the time and adding that talent to our lineup was something we were looking forward to…”I think the reaction is going to be one of disappointment, but he hasn’t been here all year,” Dunleavy said. “We’ve just got to move forward and do what we were planning on doing anyway – making the playoffs.”

Griffin was the consensus college player of the year in 2009, averaging 22.7 points and an NCAA-best 14.4 rebounds per game last season for the Sooners and the Clippers eagerly chose him in last June’s draft. Griffin averaged 13.7 points and 8.1 rebounds during the preseason, and coach Mike Dunleavy and his new teammates all expected him to be a major part of their comeback season. Instead, Griffin has never been fully healthy in Los Angeles, even straining his right shoulder during summer league play in Las Vegas.

The Clippers also have a long history of disappointing draft picks, including a pair of No. 1 overall choices that didn’t dazzle. Danny Manning played just 26 games in his rookie season in 1988-89 after tearing his knee ligament and undergoing surgery, though he eventually became an All-Star before fleeing town. Michael Olowokandi, the top pick in 1998, played just 45 games in his rookie season and he wasn’t much help even when healthy during five underachieving seasons.

Griffin’s woes sadly can’t be surprising to fans of a team with just two winning seasons in the last 30 years and just one playoff series victory since moving to town in 1984. Let’s hope that Griffin can bounce back next season and lead the Clippers back to the playoffs.