After a solid rookie season in 2022-23, AJ Griffin has been traded just one season later by the Atlanta Hawks. Prior to the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft, it was announced that the 20-year-old Griffin would be dealt to the Houston Rockets. In return, the Hawks would receive the 44th pick in yesterday’s second round. The trade was later expanded to three teams after Atlanta traded the 44th pick and cash to the Miami Heat for the 43rd selection.
ESPN Sources: The Atlanta Hawks are trading F AJ Griffin to the Houston Rockets for the 44th pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft. Griffin, 20, was a 2022 first-round pick out of Duke. pic.twitter.com/IhjHKnCxCd
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 27, 2024
Not turning 21 years old until August 25, there is still hope Griffin can rebound from a wildly disappointing 2023-24 season.
New Houston Rockets Player Looking To Redeem His Value
AJ Griffin’s Value Torpedoed In Season Two Causing Atlanta To Trade Him
Griffin was selected with the 16th overall pick in the 2022 season by the Hawks. He is the son of Adrian Griffin, who played nine seasons in the NBA and was fired as the Milwaukee Bucks head coach in late January. The younger Griffin averaged 10.4 points and shot 44.7% from three-point range during his one season at Duke. The 6-6 small forward continued to be a marksman during his rookie season of 2022-23. Playing in 72 games (12 starts), Griffin averaged 8.9 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.0 assists. Attempting 3.6 threes per contest, he connected on 39.0% of his tries from deep. He received the third-most votes among rookies who did not make either of the All-Rookie teams.
The 2023-24 season certainly wasn’t a step forward for Griffin. Injuries and poor play limited him to just 20 games. After averaging 19.5 minutes as a rookie, Griffin’s playing time dipped down to 8.6 minutes per night. His per-game averages were a pedestrian 2.4 points, 0.9 rebounds, and 0.3 assists. The shooting prowess he showed as a rookie fell off a cliff. He went just 10-39 (25.6%) from beyond the arc.
Playing Time May Be Hard To Come By With Houston
As already mentioned, Griffin isn’t yet 21 years old. There should be plenty of time to redeem his value as a viable NBA player. It’s just not certain he finds the playing time to do so with the Rockets. Houston had a 19-win improvement going from 22-60 in 2022-33 to 41-41 in 2023-24. They also have plenty of young and talented wing players that could block Griffin’s path to playing time.
21-year-old Amen Thompson was selected fourth overall in the 2023 NBA Draft. Superb on the defensive end, he was named to the All-Rookie Second Team. Selected 20th overall in the 2023 NBA Draft, Cam Whitmore exhibited the much-needed skill of putting the ball in the hoop. He averaged 12.3 points as a rookie in just 18.7 minutes per outing. Griffin has received minutes at the four as well, but Houston already has recent draft picks Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason taking the minutes there. While Dillon Brooks is more of a veteran at 28 years old, he started 72 games for Houston at small forward last season.
Still, Houston did not have to give up much for Griffin. It’s worth a flyer to give him a look, even if he’s just used as a depth piece.
