1. Blake Griffin, Power Forward
Among all the names that could be sitting on the NBA trade block heading into the 2020 offseason, about the most risky could be the Detroit Pistons veteran big man and former Oklahoma Sooner Blake Griffin. The 6-foot-10 and 250 pound towering power forward is coming off a devastating injury that caused him to miss most of the 2019-20 season.
It seems like it would be a wise move for the Pistons front office, who is also sporting a largely new regime, to blow it all up and try to rebuild this offseason. That move would likely involve parting ways with the likes of Griffin and maybe even former Bulls superstar point guard Derrick Rose. But D-Rose does still offer a lot of value off the bench as a sixth man for the Pistons.
In the 18 games that Griffin played in prior to blowing out his left knee, he averaged 15.5 points per game, 4.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 0.4 steals, and 0.4 blocks. He registered his worst advanced metrics of his career to date (-4.2 box plus/minus rating and -0.1 total win shares) after getting an All-Star selection with the Pistons the previous season.
Griffin carries a rather large price tag north of $34 million. But if the team he lands with next could recapture that production he put forward prior to the latest season filled with injury issues, then it would be worth the risk. In this possible trade deal, the Bulls would be able to dump a large salary of their own weighing down their cap sheet.