Blake Griffin Drawing Interest From Lakers, Heat, Others

The Lakers and Heat are among the teams interested in former All-Star power forward Blake Griffin, per Sean Deveney of Heavy.com.

Griffin, 33, is an unrestricted free agent and is also drawing interest from the Bulls and Celtics, per Deveney.

While he’s not the player he once was, Griffin is viewed around the league as someone who can still help a contender in reserve. He appeared in 64 games with the Nets last season, averaging a career-low 6.4 points and 4.1 rebounds.

Leg injuries have robbed him of much of his explosiveness, as Griffin’s last All-Star season came in 2018-19 while with the Pistons. He played a career-low 17.1 minutes a game last season with the Nets, who are not expected to offer him a new contract.

“There will be a number of teams that look at him,” an Eastern Conference executive told Deveney. “Chicago, Miami, the Lakers, maybe even Boston. They’d be in the mix, at least.

“… “The thing about Blake is, it is obvious he can’t do much of what he used to do, even when he was in Detroit. But he made a big, big impression around the league with the way he played against Boston, even though it was just a couple of games.

“But he was flying around, throwing his body around, taking charges, hitting the floor. He had a care factor that was off the charts, and a lot of teams took notice. This is an All-Star and a former MVP candidate and he is sacrificing himself. As your 10th man on a minimum deal, you take that. It raises everyone’s level.”