Detroit Pistons: Pros and cons of potentially trading Blake Griffin

Pro: The Injury History

Blake Griffin appeared in just 18 games for the Detroit Pistons during the 2019-20 season. This followed a postseason during which an injury-hobbled Griffin managed to play in just two of the Pistons’ four battles with the Milwaukee Bucks.

It’s easy to sit here and state that Griffin will benefit from the COVID-shortened season that gives him additional time to rehabilitate his injuries, but it’s also less than a guarantee.

Griffin missed his entire rookie season in 2009-10 with a left knee injury. He’d go on to appear in at least 97 percent of the Los Angeles Clippers’ games in each of the next four seasons, but the injury bug seemed to return as soon as 2014-15.

Griffin admittedly had something of a freak injury with a staph infection in his right elbow in 2015, but it ultimately set the stage for what we see today.

Griffin missed 47 games in 2015-16, 21 games in 2016-17, and 24 games in 2017-18. He appeared in 75 regular season games for the Pistons in 2018-19, but even then, a left knee injury late in the year resulted in his limitations during the Playoffs and the subsequential surgery.

It’s possible that 2019-20 can simply be chalked up to his recovery from surgery, but Griffin has an extensive history of injuries that can’t be overlooked given his age.

As such, there’s a case to be made that moving on would be the safest route for the Pistons to follow.