Kofi Inkoom
The Atlanta Hawks are trading forward AJ Griffin to the Houston Rockets for the 44th pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Griffin, who was selected in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft out of Duke, is 20 years old. In his rookie season, he averaged 8.9 points. However, in the 2023/24 season, AJ Griffin missed time due to leg and ankle issues, as well as personal reasons.
When he was available, he didn’t see much playing time, averaging only 8.6 minutes per game across 20 appearances. His scoring dropped significantly to 2.4 points per game on 29.0% shooting, including 25.6% from three-point range.
Griffin is set to earn $3.9 million for the 2024-25 season. The Rockets will have a $6 million team option for the 2025-26 season, which they must decide on by October 31.