4. Blake Griffin to the Brooklyn Nets
The first buyout signing that the Brooklyn Nets made will end up being the more impactful of the two signings as time goes on. In the small sample size thus far, Aldridge is playing a bigger role on the Nets and thus has a bigger impact.
However, that role will shrink once Durant gets healthy and the two buyout signings should end up having very similar roles. And once the playoffs roll around, it is Griffin that should get more playing time than Aldridge.
The ceiling is simply higher with Griffin. Yes, he looked terrible this season with the Detroit Pistons but he is still only 32 years old and was just an all-star two seasons ago. This was the reason why I petitioned for the Los Angeles Lakers to sign him. He was naturally going to play better on a contender with better players around him and something to play for.
He is not prime Griffin at all but he has been really efficient and effective in the six games played for the Nets thus far. He is averaging 8.8 points, five rebounds and 2.2 assists in 19.5 minutes per game.
Again, it is a tiny sample size, but Griffin has a Box Plus/Minus of 4.1. Aldridge’s BPM with the Nets thus far is -0.1.
Both guys have to be the fifth and fourth most impactful additions simply because they are bench players. Both could be champions in a short few months, though.