AJ Griffin, Rockets agree to contract buyout amid retirement talks

The Houston Rockets and forward AJ Griffin have reached an agreement on a contract buyout, according to the Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen. Griffin, the 16th overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft, would be entering the third year of his four-year, $17.1 million contract. The buyout is worth $250,000, according to Spotrac.

The former first-round draft pick plans to take a step back as he considers continuing his NBA career, sources confirmed to ESPN and Bleacher Report on Friday.

Houston Rockets buy out forward AJ Griffin as he mulls his NBA future https://t.co/zynkluKnrc via @houstonchron

— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) September 20, 2024

Kelly Iko and Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that AJ Griffin is retiring from basketball, “giving up a significant portion of the $3.9 million he was owed for the upcoming 2024-25 season, a team source said.”

This is part of the four-year, $17.1 million rookie contract he signed with the Hawks in July 2022.

As part of a three-team trade in June, the Hawks sent Griffin to Houston; Atlanta traded to the Miami Heat; the Rockets traded Pelle Larsson to Miami; and the Heat traded Nikola Djurisic to Atlanta. The Hawks also received an exception in the trade.

AJ Griffin played in five games with the Houston Rockets during this year’s NBA Summer League

Griffin played in five games for the Rockets during this year’s Summer League and also participated in voluntary workouts. However, Iko and Charania reported that “as training camp approached, Griffin’s performances — and communication with the organization — diminished.”

Griffin and Houston “have been preparing for his departure from the game.” Iko and Charania added that the Rockets “understand his personal life is a priority and have offered their support.”

Additionally, Houston has “no immediate plans to fill the roster spot” and “will remain flexible and patient with the market,” Iko and Charania said.

AJ GRIFFIN photo.twitter.com/DJzUlJm7tR

—Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) November 8, 2022

The 6-foot-6 Griffin had a decent rookie season with the Hawks. In 72 games (12 starts) of the 2022-23 season, he averaged 8.9 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 19.5 minutes per game

In Atlanta’s 117-98 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Nov. 7, 2022, AJ Griffin had a career-high 24 points on 10 of 15 (66.7%) shooting from the floor and 2 of 6 (33.3%) from beyond the arc. The former Duke star also made both free throws.

Despite this, in 20 games as a substitute last season, he averaged just 2.4 points and 8.6 minutes per game while connecting on 29% of his shots and making 25.6% of his three-pointers.