The Houston Rockets have decided to buy former first-round pick AJ Griffin out of his contract due to the forward's wishes to step away from the NBA and the game of basketball, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania.

Griffin, 21, was recently traded this offseason to the Rockets from the Atlanta Hawks in a cost-saving move by Atlanta. He was acquired by Houston at the price of a second-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. In recent weeks, reports surfaced suggesting that Griffin was contemplating his future in the league and seriously considering stepping away from the NBA.

Now, Griffin will do so, as the Rockets have bought him out of his contract. The young forward still had two more years left on his contract, valued at $3.88 million this season and $5.96 million for the 2025-26 season, but the buyout was only worth $250,000, according to The Houston Chronicle.

Last season, Griffin played in only 20 games due to personal reasons, as well as leg and ankle injuries. There were no reports suggesting that Griffin was contemplating his future in the league during the 2023-24 season.

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Now, with less than two weeks before the start of training camp, Griffin is no longer a part of the Rockets organization. After buying him out of his contract, the Rockets will now have an open roster spot that they can explore multiple possibilities with.

Without Griffin on their roster, Houston has 14 players under contract. It is possible that the team could opt to keep this final roster spot open heading into the start of the season in order to maintain flexibility and a small portion of financial value ahead of the trade deadline in February. There is also the possibility of the Rockets showing interest in one of the few notable players still searching for a contract this offseason.

Originally selected 16th overall in the 2022 NBA Draft, Griffin averaged 7.5 points and 1.9 rebounds per game while shooting 44.7 percent over the course of 92 total games with the Hawks. His best game with Atlanta came during the 2022-23 season, when Griffin registered 24 points in 35 minutes against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. The Hawks ended up winning this game 117-109 on December 2, 2022.

He is the son of former Milwaukee Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin.