2019 NBA Trade Deadline: 15 players in need of a trade

15. Blake Griffin

Call it premature if you must, but Blake Griffin is the only thing holding this raggedy roster intact. Maybe we should give the Detroit Pistons a whole offseason to wash their hands of Stan Van Gundy’s mistakes and put a team together than adheres to Dwane Casey’s tactics, but it’s starting to feel like their best avenue would be trading Griffin now, while he’s still rolling.

Griffin’s injury history is no secret to anyone, and as he approaches his 30th birthday, this career year has elevated his trade value higher than expected. Averaging 26.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game on 36.4 percent shooting from 3, Griffin would be an MVP candidate if the Pistons weren’t so terrible at seven games below .500.

It’s clearly starting to bother him, too:

https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1088287043044761600

Maybe Detroit stays patient and tries to build a contender around Griffin and Andre Drummond, but even if that actually came about, by the time it happened, Griffin — and his massive contract — would be too far gone. The Pistons are on the verge of becoming a team that waited too long to move on from its star duo — much like the Memphis Grizzlies, only without any of the continuity or playoff success.