NBA Rumors: Pistons Sign-And-Trade Deal Involving Griffin Won’t Happen, Report Says

KEY POINTS

Blake Griffin's rumored move to the Nuggets is not happening, a report says
The Pistons are possibly giving Griffin more time to prove himself
The Nuggets remain formidable even after losing Jerami Grant and Mason Plumlee

The Detroit Pistons have no plans of sending Blake Griffin away for now. After acquiring Jerami Grant and Mason Plumlee from free agency, social media speculated that a sign-and-trade deal involving the 31-year-old cager was coming next.

However, an unnamed source informed Mike Singer of the Denver Post that the Nuggets will not pursue a sign-and-trade deal for Griffin.

"That's definitely not happening," the source said to Singer.

The deals for Grant and Plumlee were first reported by John Hollinger of The Athletic. Looking at the new deals both got, most noticed that this matched the numbers on Griffin’s remaining two years on his contract. This led to speculation that a sign-and-trade deal involving the six-time All-Star could be happening next.

FYI The reported deals for Grant and Plumlee are exactly enough to do a sign-and-trade for Blake Griffin.
— John Hollinger (@johnhollinger) November 21, 2020

Griffin has roughly more than $75 million left in the last two years of his current deal. This was the same contract that he signed with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2018.

Seeing as how Griffin has been struggling in the past seasons due to injuries, it made no sense for the Nuggets to consider him until he proves to be sturdy. Last season alone, he played only 18 games for Detroit, averaging 15.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists.

Despite his health problems, the Pistons have said repeatedly that they do not have immediate plans of trading the 2011 NBA Rookie of the Year. Detroit is likely giving Griffin one more chance before resorting to a trade.

For the Nuggets, it appears they are in no hurry to fill up the void left by Grant and Plumlee. Of the two, it was Grant who had a great run for the Nuggets last season. But head coach Michael Malone may have other plans in mind.

Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray are expected to lead the team anew and Denver still has a good supporting cast. That includes Michael Porter Jr., Gary Harris, Will Barton and Monte Morris.

Aside from that, there is also the 7-foot-2 Bol Bol whom Malone can bank on. New additions to the team include Zeke Nnaji and R.J. Hampton from the 2020 NBA Draft.

The loss of Grant will be felt, but pundits feel Denver can still hold up. Griffin could have added more muscle, but his inability to stay away from injuries raises more questions than answers.