Taking a look at Detroit Pistons trade value
Blake Griffin
Blake Griffin‘s trade value has plummeted from what it was a season ago, when he was an All-NBA selection. Bothered by injuries to start the year, illnesses and unable to find a rhythm, Griffin has struggled to help the Pistons. He’s showed flashes of his former self but they’ve been few and far between.
Beyond that, he has a King’s ransom attached with his contract. He’s owed $36.6 million next season and has a player option for $38.96 million during the 2021-22 season. That would give a penalty for any team looking to afford a maximum salary slot for the loaded 2021 free agent class.
Though another team could look at Griffin and believe he’ll get healthy and get right to be worth a maximum slot. The Portland Trail Blazers seem like the most-likely candidate with around $60 million owed to Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum next season and beyond.
trade speculation. Potential landing spots for Blake Griffin. light
Griffin, though, is averaging seven minutes per game fewer than his career average. His scoring average is down 4.8 points per 100 possessions and his offensive rating is 98, well-below his previous season-low of 98.
Detroit will likely have to attach an asset to move Griffin due to his contract. That could be a 2020 first round pick in a weak draft class. The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie recently wrote that league executives are treating the No. 1 pick as a top 5 pick and that there is “general unrest throughout the lottery.” While that devalues Detroit’s pick, it’s a prime opportunity for a team that wants to contend to get a cheaper, win-now role player through the draft.
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That being said, it wouldn’t be enough to bring back a young player such as Anfernee Simons. But that doesn’t mean a young player like Zach Collins or Nassir Little couldn’t be had. Portland, particularly, could make this deal with Jusuf Nurkic expected back this season rendering Hassan Whiteside‘s large expiring contract moveable.
Portland is likely the only contending team that would have interest in Griffin. But could a team chalked with young talent look to add him? The Memphis Grizzlies could pair him with Jaren Jackson Jr. Perhaps the Phoenix Suns could bring him in after starting the year 11-12 and being impressive, though they’ve lost seven straight.
Maybe the Washington Wizards take a chance that he and John Wall can both get healthy. If Griffin were to opt-in to his player option, he’d be an expiring contract with Bradley Beal at the same time, and Wall could too if he chose to decline a $47.4 million player option, which makes Griffin’s deal look cheap.