Chicago Bulls: It’s a good thing no one traded the Pistons for Blake Griffin

The fact that no one, including the Chicago Bulls, elected to make a trade for Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin looks like a good move now.

Making a trade this season to land a true star would be a favorable move in the eyes of nearly every fan of the Chicago Bulls. But this season presents a tricky trade market for a team like the Bulls, so they need to be careful with who they pursue.

A good example of why the a Bulls need to be so careful is the injury to the Detroit Pistons star forward Blake Griffin. As one of the hotter names on the trade block early in the regular season, Griffin looked like an attractive target for a team that was on the brink of playoff contention. Griffin had a big season in 2018-19, so there was ample reason to believe he could provide a true star presence to another team in need this year.

By now, the top big man that most teams would be looking to trade for from the Pistons would be the breakthrough star center Andre Drummond. As reports continue to drop that the Atlanta Hawks have serious traction in trade talks with the Pistons to land Drummond, Griffin might be left as the sole standout veteran big man on that roster in Detroit.

All Griffin was able to produce this season before going down with injury was 15.5 points per game, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists, with a player efficiency rating slightly higher than 12.0 and -0.1 win shares. This might wind up being the first season in Blake’s NBA career that he finishes up with a number of win shares below zero.

A report that originated with Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports did say that Griffin could be considering season-ending left knee surgery. It looks like that left-knee injury could wind up keeping him out for the rest of the regular season either way. If the Pistons do make a playoff run, maybe he could return then. But it would not be smart on his part to return ahead of schedule with the Pistons so far out of the playoff picture and both their big men on the trade block at the moment.

However, this news is a detriment to the Pistons and their chances to make a legit solid run in the Central Division. It’s also never good to see a hardworking star like Griffin have such an unfortunate string of injuries this season.

The Bulls didn’t seem like one of those teams that would consider a trade for Griffin. But he would certainly bring a star presence that is unmatched by any other player on the current Bulls roster. That is a healthy version of Blake that is closer to the player we saw last season instead of this year.