Report: Blake Griffin Puts Trail Blazers On List of Potential Destinations After Buyout With Pistons
Even without C.J. McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic, the Trail Blazers haven't exactly been hurting to find viable rotation players. But as buyout season begins, the league's most high-profile free agent is apparently considering Portland regardless.
Blake Griffin, in wake of agreeing to a buyout on Friday with the Detroit Pistons, has the Blazers on his shortlist of preferred destinations, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Six-time NBA All-Star Blake Griffin has agreed to a contract buyout with the Detroit Pistons and will become an unrestricted free agent, sources tell ESPN.
The Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat and Portland Trail Blazers are expected to be among the teams Griffin will be considering for his next stop, sources tell ESPN.
Griffin, 31, has struggled immensely this season to regain the form that made him a surprise All-NBA Third Team honoree with Detroit in 2018-19. Beset by a series of lower-body injuries that began even before his rookie year over a decade ago, Griffin had season-ending surgery on his left knee last January, further sapping him of the elite athleticism that first propelled him to superstardom.
Griffin averaged 12.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 31.3 minutes per game with the Pistons this season, shooting just 31.5 percent from beyond the arc and making 42.9 percent of his twos, a career-low. Lacking the burst to get to the basket and the lift to consistently knock down jumpers, Griffin has been one of the least efficient scorers in basketball over the last two seasons.
The six-time All-Star's perceived on-court utility going forward is as a supporting playmaker and spot-up shooter. Griffin has always been a good passer, and his much-improved shooting ability turned him into a true point forward of sorts during his best season in Detroit. He doesn't have the physical tools to be that player anymore, but Griffin indeed makes sense as a second-unit big for teams in need of some ball movement and extra offensive oomph
Does that description apply to Portland? Definitely. Griffin's comfort playing the dribble hand-off game, serving as an elbow playmaking hub and exploiting scrambling defenses on short rolls would be a boon for the Blazers. But he's a clear minus defensively, not his only overlap with Carmelo Anthony, and the presence of Enes Kanter means Griffin would have stiff competition to cement himself as Portland's backup center in more traditional lineups. Griffin just doesn't have the quickness or length needed to switch across multiple positions as part of small-ball units.
Plus, an unsurprising team has reportedly emerged as the leader to land the five-time All-NBA selection.
Griffin is a good stylistic fit with the Blazers – perhaps better than with the Nets given their switch-heavy defensive scheme. But he won't be signing with a team to sit on the bench, and Portland just has too many veteran bodies upfront to guarantee Griffin the type of role that would entice him to Rip City.