The Boston Celtics are finally adding a veteran big man. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Celtics are signing Blake Griffin:
Free agent Blake Griffin has agreed to a one-year, fully guaranteed deal with the Boston Celtics, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 30, 2022
Griffin’s deal will reportedly be fully guaranteed for one year at the veteran minimum. The Celtics will need to waive a player to complete the Griffin signing. With six players currently on non-guaranteed camp contracts, that shouldn’t be a problem for Boston.
Griffin is a 12-year NBA veteran. He spent the last season-and-a-half with the Brooklyn Nets. In 82 games (34 starts) with Brooklyn, Griffin averaged 7.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 18.5 minutes per game.
The 6-foot-9 big man has also played for the LA Clippers and Detroit Pistons during his career. Griffin holds career averages of 19.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.
No longer the high-flyer he was in his younger days, Griffin has reinvented his game. He remains a solid passer and he’s become a passable three-point shooter. Defensively, Griffin is a positional defender. He regularly features near the top of NBA leaderboards in charges taken.
Boston will now have 13 players on fully or partially guaranteed standard contracts. That’s two shy of the NBA regular season maximum of 15. The Celtics will need to add a 14th player eventually, as teams are only allowed to dip under 14 players on standard contracts for up to two weeks at a time.
