Six-time NBA All-Star Blake Griffin has decided not to play with the Detroit Pistons in their upcoming games after requesting a trade or a buyout.
Currently, the Pistons are at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings with only eight wins and 19 losses.
Griffin who shown everyone in the past years that he is not just a highlight dunking machine but an all-rounder basketball player has been playing poorly in the current 2020-2021 NBA season.
The power forward is only averaging 12.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. Hence, affecting his performance could be because he no longer wants to play for the franchise.
However, it would be difficult for the Pistons to trade Griffin because of his contract. Griffin has an active $36.81 million contract this season and $39 million with a player option next season.
Trading someone with such high value means exchanging for another superstar but the current placing of the Pistons, as well as the performance of Griffin, are making them struggle to find a team willing to trade.
With this, several executives in the league believe it would end up as a buyout if Griffin wants to be traded to a playoff contender team.
“I don’t know who would take him. It’ll probably end in a buyout with him giving money back. I’m guessing his agent is calling teams to see who wants him and what they would be willing to pay him so Blake won’t lose any money.”