As shocking as it might seem, Los Angeles Clippers abruptly ended their association with the team’s seminal franchise player, forward Blake Griffin, sending him to Detroit Pistons.

To complete the trade, the Pistons will send to LA Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanovic. Besides, Clippers get a first-round and a second-round draft pick. Detroit also acquired Brice Johnson and Willie Reed in the trade.

The Clippers won at least 56 regular season games from 2012 through 2015. But they couldn’t break through in the postseason. Most egregiously, they blew a 3-1 lead to Houston in the Western Conference semifinals in 2015, losing that series in seven games after blowing a 19-point lead at home to the Rockets in Game 6, who won with the likes of Josh Smith, Corey Brewer and Jason Terry leading the rally rather than All-Star guard James Harden.

Griffin, second on the Clippers’ all-time scoring list, was the highlight-reel road upon which the Clippers, long the far-behind second team in Los Angeles behind the Lakers, finally became relevant and a sustained winner. In a city that only responds to stars, Griffin became a superstar, with his ability to elevate and dunk giving the franchise a splashy nickname -- “Lob City” -- and a reason for locals to come out of pocket to watch them play.

Even after Chris Paul’s time with the Clippers ended, with Paul engineering a trade to Houston before last June’s Draft, the Clippers moved quickly to retain Griffin, giving him a five-year, $175 million max extension -- after showering him with video tributes and making up t-shirts that compared Griffin with the likes of Martin Luther King, Muhammad Ali, John F. Kennedy and Albert Einstein as part of their recruiting pitch.

However, things were not working for Clippers and they just decided to just let Griffin leave.

The Pistons have been reeling in recent weeks, sinking in the Eastern Conference, but that may soon change.

The trade could also mean more minutes for rookie Luke Kennard. The Pistons selected the former Duke star in the first round of last year's NBA Draft, but he has found playing time hard to come by this season.