Over the past couple days, Brooklyn Nets rumors have pointed in the direction of the team signing six-time All-Star forward Blake Griffin.
Once Griffin was officially bought out by the Detroit Pistons late last week, Brooklyn was seen as the overwhelming favorite to land the big man. That’s now come to fruition.
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Brooklyn Nets to sign Blake Griffin
“Blake Griffin has cleared free agency waivers and the six-time NBA All-Star is expected to sign with the Brooklyn Nets,” Shams Charania of The Athletic reported on Sunday.
Despite drawing interest from both Los Angeles teams as well as the Golden State Warriors, Nets rumors had been hinting at this eventuality for some time now.
It makes sense. After acquiring James Harden in a blockbuster trade earlier this season, Brooklyn took a major hit from a depth standpoint. The team had been linked to multiple players, both on the buyout market and trade block leading up to the March 25 deadline.
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One of the biggest needs for these Nets has been in the frontcourt. In acquiring Griffin, Brooklyn is able to pair him with former Los Angeles Clippers teammate DeAndre Jordan. It could end up being the formation of one of the most-notable starting fives in modern league history with Griffin, Jordan, Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
Griffin, 31, is nowhere near the player he was earlier in his career with the Clippers. The six-time All-Star was averaging 12.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists on 37% shooting from the field with Detroit before the two sides opted to part ways.
Brooklyn Nets rumors will point to more activity ahead of NBA trade deadline
There’s another intriguing backdrop to all of this. By adding Griffin on the buyout market, these Nets have not exhausted the capital it would take to pull off a trade before March 25.
Previous indications were that other teams had interest in injured guard Spencer Dinwiddie. The impending restricted free agent is lost for the season due to a partially torn ACL.
With that said, he does have a nice amount of value on the trade market. Dinwiddie, 27, averaged 20.6 points and 6.8 assists for the Nets last season. He’s also expected to pick up the $12.3 million option on his contract for the 2021-22 season.
Any team making a move for Dinwiddie would be doing so with the full expectation that he’d be able to return to form next season. In turn, that could net Brooklyn more depth as the team goes all in for a championship run this coming summer.
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At this point, a backup two-guard or someone who can play both forward positions are the likeliest targets for Nets general manager Sean Marks. Purely hypothetical, but someone like Orlando Magic guard Evan Fournier or P.J. Tucker of the Houston Rockets could make some sense.
Regardless, the acquisition of Blake Griffin could be the start of a rather busy three-week period in the Big Apple as Brooklyn looks to improve off its 24-13 start to the season.
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