Could there be a Blake Griffin trade on the horizon for the Detroit Pistons this season? It’s not likely, but there are plenty of movable parts on this roster. After new general manager Troy Weaver completely re-built the team in the offseason, they have an assortment of permanent pieces, trade chips and some wait-and-see candidates.
We’ll take a look at the whole roster and break it down into tiers of trade value to get an idea of who might get moved, who won’t get moved, and who other teams might want but can’t have.
Blake Griffin trade watch: How tradable is every Pistons player?
Since coming into the season, Blake Griffin and his associated trade value was the biggest point of focus both for Pistons fans and for those who thought he might fit well on their team, we’ll start with Griffin himself before breaking the rest of the roster into tiers.
Coming off a knee injury that scuttled most of his 2019-20 season, there was hope that he would be back to 100 percent and the same old Blake that led the Pistons to the playoffs two seasons ago. Unfortunately, he’s struggled and largely played between the 3-point lines on the court.
He’s scoring 12.4 points per game, shooting a career-worst 42.1 percent from 2-point range and 33.3 percent from 3-point range. 57.3 percent of his field goal attempts have come from behind the arc, and he just hasn’t been efficient from that range.
Every so often you’ll see flashes of Blake from days gone by, but that’s not enough to convince another NBA team to give up anything of value to get him. Organizations that might inquire about Griffin would best be served by trading for other players who can do similar things at a more reasonable rate of pay, or simply plucking players out of free agency when buyout season begins.
Blake Griffin’s trade value: None
With Griffin addressed, let’s take a look at the other end of the spectrum, Jerami Grant.