Houston Rockets forward AJ Griffin is seriously considering stepping away from the game of basketball and the NBA, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania and Kelly Iko.
Griffin, 21, was selected 16th overall in the 2022 NBA Draft out of Duke by the Atlanta Hawks, where he spent the first two seasons of his career. This offseason, Griffin was traded from Atlanta to the Rockets in a move that included a 2024 second-round pick.
In a total of 92 games with the Hawks, Griffin averaged 7.5 points and 1.9 rebounds per game while shooting 44.7 percent from the floor and 37.2 percent from three-point range. His best game in a Hawks uniform came during the 2022-23 season, when Griffin registered 24 points in 35 minutes against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. Atlanta ended up winning this game 117-109 on December 2, 2022.
Unfortunately, Griffin saw his 2023-24 campaign was limited to only 20 games due to personal reasons, as well as leg and ankle injuries. At this time, the Rockets have not said anything about Griffin's status.
News of Griffin possibly stepping away from basketball comes less than three weeks before training camp. The Rockets finished the 2023-24 season with a 41-41 record, falling just short of earning a spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament.
![Tari Eason ready for Rockets season after injury rehab [Exclusive]](https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/IMG_0833.jpeg)
Should Griffin leave the team and the NBA, the Rockets will have less depth at the small forward position. Although he was not much of a contributor in Atlanta, there were high hopes that a fresh start in Houston would help kick-start Griffin's career. Now, it appears as if his career could be ending prematurely due to personal reasons. The 21-year-old is currently in the third year of his four-year, $17.1 million rookie contract.
Without the former first-round pick, there will be less competition for Cam Whitmore, Jae'Sean Tate, and Tari Eason at the forward position. The Rockets are a young team with a lot of rising talent, which is why they will immediately turn to the next wave of players on their roster for minutes entering the 2024-25 season.
Griffin is the son of former Milwaukee Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin.
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