Pistons Buyout Blake Griffin

In the least shocking news of the day, the Detroit Pistons and Blake Griffin have agreed to a contract buyout. Apparently, the trade market for the physically declining six-time former All-Star was non-existent. Appearing in only 38 games for the Pistons over the past two years, the former Slam Dunk Champion is in the midst of the most unproductive stretch in his career, averaging just 13.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 3.6 apg with awful percentages - 35.8% FG & 28.1% 3P - and a whopping 1.9 turnovers per game.

Six-time All-Star forward Blake Griffin has agreed to a contract buyout with the Detroit Pistons and will become an unrestricted free agent, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 5, 2021

Blake Griffin will clear waivers at 5PM on Saturday.

At the time of the buyout, Griffin was owed $56.5M.

Detroit will have a substantial cap hit in 2021/22 and will need to weight the options of stretching that amount over 3 seasons or taking the hit in 1 season.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) March 5, 2021

Regardless of his physical limitations these days, there are still a variety of contenders that will be interested in Griffin come Saturday at 5 PM. The usual suspects (Lakers, Clippers & Nets) will all be involved in acquiring the veteran's services, which will come for a price of next-to-nothing. There is no doubt that Griffin can bring solid veteran presence to a team trying to win a championship, and he can still be a valuable player off the bench in limited minutes.

The Lakers, Clippers, Nets, Heat and Warriors are among the teams that have expressed interest in Blake Griffin when he becomes an unrestricted free agent, league sources say
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) March 5, 2021

For those that long for a time when Griffin was one of the marquee attractions in the NBA, check out the nostalgic video below.