According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Houston Rockets have chosen to buy out former first-round pick AJ Griffin’s contract because the forward intends to leave the NBA and the game of basketball.
Griffin, 21, was dealt to the Rockets from the Atlanta Hawks in an offseason cost-cutting move by Atlanta. He was purchased by Houston for a second-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. In recent weeks, stories appeared indicating that Griffin was reconsidering his future in the game and seriously considering leaving the NBA.
Griffin will do so now that the Rockets have bought him out of his contract. The young forward still had two years left on his deal, earning $3.88 million this season and $5.96 million in 2025-26, but the buyout was only $250,000, according to The Houston Chronicle.
Griffin played only 20 games last season due to personal circumstances, as well as leg and ankle problems. There were no indications indicating Griffin was considering his future in the league during the 2023-24 season.
Griffin is no longer with the Rockets, less than two weeks before training camp begins. After buying him out of his contract, the Rockets will have an available roster space to explore several options.
Without Griffin, Houston has 14 players under contract. It is probable that the organisation will retain this final roster space available until the season begins in order to maintain flexibility and a tiny percentage of financial value ahead of the February trade deadline. There is also the possibility that the Rockets will express interest in one of the few famous players still looking for a contract this summer.
Griffin, taken 16th overall in the 2022 NBA Draft, averaged 7.5 points and 1.9 rebounds per game while shooting 44.7 percent in 92 games with the Hawks. Griffin’s finest game with Atlanta was during the 2022-23 season, when he scored 24 points in 35 minutes against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. The Hawks won this game 117-109 on December 2, 2022.
He is the son of Adrian Griffin, the former Milwaukee Bucks head coach.
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