5 free-agent flops the Lakers were right to avoid this summer
By Jason Reed
3. Blake Griffin
There was a moment there where it seemed like the Los Angeles Lakers would go after former All-NBA forward Blake Griffin. The Lakers had expressed interest in Griffin before when he was bought out by the Detroit Pistons and it would not have been the most shocking thing in the world if the Lakers brought him back to LA.
After all, the team needed size in the offseason and needed a power forward that could backup Anthony Davis. Nobody thinks that Griffin is even close to the player that he used to be but if there was any team that would have talked itself into getting the most out of him, it would have been the Lakers.
Luckily, the Lakers were burned so badly by the veteran role players they signed in the summer of 2021 that they ultimately stayed away from Griffin. Griffin stayed in the Atlantic Division, signing a veteran minimum deal with the Boston Celtics.
On the surface, Griffin’s numbers do not look too bad. He is shooting 37.5% from three and has been a decent contributor in the 11 or so minutes he is getting a game. However, when you look under the hood it is clear that he has not been that great.
His offense has been inefficient and he simply has not been good on the defensive side of the basketball. Among the 352 players with at least 75 minutes played this season, Griffin ranks 280th in Box Plus/Minus.