What’s next for Blake Griffin and the Detroit Pistons

Why Blake Griffin (probably) won’t be traded

At this stage of Blake Griffin’s NBA career, he struggles to be an impactful player. His athleticism has departed, his jumper that he worked so hard on comes and goes but isn’t reliable, and in spite of his strength advantage in the post, he doesn’t have the athleticism to be effective.

That’s not to say that he doesn’t have his uses, however. He remains a high-level passer, he’s an excellent leader and outstanding in the locker room. The problem is that while teams might love to have a guy like Griffin on their team, nobody is going to love it so much that they’re going to scratch together components on their roster that match his $36.6 million 2020-21 salary ($39.0 million next season).

Furthermore, the Pistons have no incentive to sweeten any deal for Griffin in an effort to persuade a trade partner to do a deal. The Pistons want to pick up young players, draft capital and distressed assets like Josh Jackson and Dennis Smith Jr. who can be rebuilt, not attach one of these youngsters to Griffin in an effort to get rid of him.

Griffin’s absence from the lineup will be a form of addition by subtraction simply because it opens up the door for Saddiq Bey (this week’s Eastern Conference Player of the Week) to play more and flourish, as well as Sekou Doumbouya to get more run. The Pistons have no reason to try to force the issue with any team. If they kept Griffin on the sidelines until his contract ran out, it would harm them in no way.

Of course, they also want to do right by him, which is why that won’t be the outcome. Still, there’s no reason for them to sweeten a deal, so they won’t. And nobody is going to pay up for Blake Griffin’s services, so they won’t. Which leaves a trade being the least likely outcome by far.

Let’s take a look at what a buyout could mean for Griffin and the Pistons.