Could the OKC Thunder be a Landing Spot For Blake Griffin?

The Oklahoma City Thunder already have a roster crunch ahead of them, but there may be reason to add Blake Griffin.

In a recent Bleacher Report article looking at landing spots for the top available free agents, Oklahoma City was touted as Griffin’s ideal destination. Although Griffin has had injury troubles and is past his prime, he could still give a team meaningful contributions.

According to the article, Griffin’s size would be his best asset, allowing him to battle with bigger bodies to put less stress on Chet Holmgren. Those would likely be short stretches at this stage of Griffin’s career but valuable nonetheless.

Last season, Griffin played 41 games with the Boston Celtics, including 16 starts. While his stats were not eye-catching, he had his best 3-point shooting season since his last all-star season in 2018-19 at 34.8%.

That percentage is not quite league average but is still high enough that Griffin would not be a liability outside. Even with his skills on the floor, the 13-year veteran would be best as a locker-room presence.

Aside from immediately being the oldest player on the Thunder if signed, he also has the most playoff experience. With 68 playoff games, Griffin could give some guidance to the Thunder’s young roster, which has little postseason experience.

As the Thunder enter its first season with expectations in this era, Griffin could help them navigate the long, 82-game season. Griffin is no stranger to teams with championship aspirations and could give the Thunder an influential voice as they try to work themselves into championship contention.

Although he could be a helpful addition to Oklahoma City, getting on the opening night roster may not be easy. Griffin would have to beat out guys such as Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Jack White at the forward spot to make it past training camp.

Assuming he makes it past the roster crunch, his role would be minimal as he does not match exactly what the Thunder want in a frontcourt player. Griffin is neither the perimeter-oriented like the Thunder have with Kenrich Williams and Ousmane Dieng, nor is he a traditional big man that would offer the Thunder an alternate look inside.

In many ways, Griffin is a player of the past, even with his attempts to change his play style throughout his career. Griffin would have been a great fit in Oklahoma City when Russell Westbrook led the charge, but in today’s league, he just does not make sense next to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and company.

There may be a market for the University of Oklahoma product, but the Thunder likely are not the team for him. But if the Thunder take a chance on Griffin, it could give him the opportunity for a storybook ending by finishing his basketball career in the state it began.

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