What’s next for Blake Griffin and the Detroit Pistons

It’s the end of an era for Blake Griffin and the Detroit Pistons. In a season where the franchise’s trajectory and his goals for the twilight of his career simply don’t align, both parties have agreed that he will sit out until either a trade or buyout of the remainder of his contract becomes possible.

Make no mistake, this isn’t a matter of petulance on Griffin’s part. He’s not sitting out to show his dismay in the organization, but instead it reflects his awareness of where the Pistons are headed and his understanding that in order for them to step forward, he needs to step aside.

What’s next for Blake Griffin and the Detroit Pistons

The Pistons are in the beginning stages of a youth movement, but they came into the season with Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose being the most proven vets on the roster. Rose was traded barely more than a week ago, and Griffin’s relegation to the bench clears the way with finality for guys like Saddiq Bey and Sekou Doumbouya to fill out the rotation.

Until the Rose trade, the Pistons had a few too many veteran players taking up rotation spots to truly consider themselves a young team, but Griffin’s graceful move to the shadows fully allows youth to take over.

As for the next step that Griffin and the Pistons will take together on this new road, it’s likely that general manager Troy Weaver has a list of contending teams that Griffin would like to go to. If one of those teams is interested in making a deal for his services and not leaving it up to chance on the waiver wire after he’s bought out, they’ll have the opportunity to do so.

Of course, it’s likely that contending teams aren’t going to give up much for Griffin when he probably won’t be a significant difference-maker on the floor, and they can simply put in a claim for him once the Pistons do buy him out.

We’ll take a look at three major components of this situation, starting with why a trade is unlikely.