Detroit Pistons: Blake Griffin for Russell Westbrook is a bad trade that must happen

How Blake Griffin would fit with the Houston Rockets

At this stage in Blake Griffin’s career, the days of him being the lead actor on an NBA offense are behind him. The athleticism that made him a breakout star in his younger days has left him thanks to a series of injuries throughout his career, and while he’s still as strong as a bull he doesn’t have the same kind of explosiveness he was once known for.

Instead of reliable athleticism, he’s discovered a dependable 3-point shot and has largely remade himself in the image of the modern NBA. In 2018-19, he had one of the most prolific 3-point shooting seasons in Detroit Pistons history, a thing that would have been unthinkable earlier in his career.

In fact, on a Rockets team full of high-volume and low-to-middling efficiency 3-point shooters, Griffin might be an ideal teammate for James Harden. Playing off the ball, he can be both an effective decoy and a dangerous weapon to score off Harden’s passes, and he can spell Harden when he needs rest.

As we saw in the playoffs, the Rockets need shooters, and that’s exactly what Griffin has become in his efforts to keep himself viable at a high level in today’s NBA.

Griffin also provides size, and whether the Houston Rockets are willing to admit it, you need a little bit of size once in a while at least to win in the NBA.

In spite of the pros we mentioned here, there is of course that nagging injury issue. A knee injury suffered late in the 2018-19 season wiped out this past season, and while he claims to be back to 100 percent several months at least before next season is to begin, you never really know how accurate that claim is.

For the Houston Rockets, this would be a classic case of caveat emptor.