AJ Griffin Considering Stepping Away From Basketball

Post #1 » by **RealGM Wiretap** » Fri Sep 13, 2024 1:41 am

AJ Griffin is giving serious consideration to stepping away from basketball, sources tell Shams Charania and Kelly Iko of The Athletic. The Houston Rockets acquired Griffin from the Atlanta Hawks this offseason. Preparations are underway for Griffin's departure from the game.

Griffin, who was the 16th overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft out of Duke, is represented by agents Austin Brown, Steven Heumann and Max Saidman.

In 20 games last season with the Hawks, Griffin averaged 2.4 points in 8.5 minutes per game. Griffin appeared in 72 games as a rookie where he averaged 8.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 19.5 minutes.

Via Shams Charania/The Athletic

FreeBoosie · Post #2 » by **FreeBoosie** » Fri Sep 13, 2024 2:18 am

Lol and do what? Smoke pot and ride skateboards with Larry Sanders all day long?

uconn83 · Post #3 » by **uconn83** » Fri Sep 13, 2024 2:27 am

he went to Duke, i'm sure he will be fine

Scoonie · Post #4 » by **Scoonie** » Fri Sep 13, 2024 2:36 am

That's wild. Thankfully his father is wealthy (he earned it).

mowcrowbar · Post #5 » by **mowcrowbar** » Fri Sep 13, 2024 4:05 am

Who???

ontnut · Post #6 » by **ontnut** » Fri Sep 13, 2024 4:41 am

FreeBoosie wrote:Lol and do what? Smoke pot and ride skateboards with Larry Sanders all day long?

He's HEAVILY into his Christian faith. Wouldn't be surprised if it had something to do with that. He tweeted about how people shouldn't go to the Beyonce concert because she's promoting the devil, or some ish like that. He also took time off last season for personal reasons. Plus the drama with his dad, and with his brother. Wouldn't be surprised if it was all taking a mental toll on him.

Roy T · Post #7 » by **Roy T** » Fri Sep 13, 2024 5:01 am

Mental health is no joke. See you in heaven kid. The end is near!

NE_pops · Post #8 » by **NE_pops** » Fri Sep 13, 2024 10:34 am

uconn83 wrote:he went to Duke, i'm sure he will be fine

He went to Duke for a semester, basically.

Skipwhethers · Post #9 » by **Skipwhethers** » Fri Sep 13, 2024 1:14 pm

Roy T wrote:Mental health is no joke. See you in heaven kid. The end is near!

What a lousy thing to say. I hope he gets the help he needs. That's pretty brave of him to value his mental health over a lucrative job, regardless of who is dad is.

the_process · Post #10 » by **the_process** » Fri Sep 13, 2024 6:38 pm

They really need to mention the reason for this: the sudden, unexpected loss of his child.

SpudWilkins · Post #11 » by **SpudWilkins** » Fri Sep 13, 2024 8:39 pm

the_process wrote:They really need to mention the reason for this: the sudden, unexpected loss of his child.

Pretty sure it was his nephew, by way of his brother who died. But your point remains valid. A lot has happened in his personal life.

elmdawgg69 · Post #12 » by **elmdawgg69** » Sat Sep 14, 2024 1:10 pm

We all have mental health issues. This was not a thing 15 years ago. Could it be the COVID jab? Doubtful because Andrew Wiggins took a leave with mental health issues.

AJ should try to finish out his last year of his contract and then make the decision in the offseason. Mental states change quickly.