11-year NBA veteran Blake Griffin recently started a new chapter in his NBA career, signing a contract with the Brooklyn Nets on their quest to a championship.
Notably, although Brooklyn is a clear title favorite, it still took convincing — and recruiting — for Griffin to decide that the Nets were the best fit for him.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday night, Griffin would reveal that it was actually two-time Finals MVP Kevin Durant who recruited him most heavily prior to his decision to sign with Brooklyn.
Furthermore, Griffin once again confirmed that a key reasons he signed with the Nets was to play “meaningful basketball” while “contending for a championship.
With Griffin telling reporters that he’s “not injured at all,” it’ll be interesting to see what type of performance they get from the six-time All-Star. Multiple players thought to be over-the-hill over the past two seasons have defied expectations, like Los Angeles Clippers forward Nic Batum, Portland Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony or even Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul.
The Nets, who have the most talented three-man unit of any team but a lack a strong bench (particularly in light of Spencer Dinwiddie’s season-ending injury), are surely hoping for Griffin to be the next veteran player to defy expectations.
Griffin has appeared in only 38 games since the 2018-19 season, averaging 13.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 29.9 minutes per game in that stretch. While those numbers are pedestrian and substandard when compared to the output he had in his prime, that’s enough production for a team to be pleased with a player who will now come off of the bench.
