ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Atlanta Hawks will send forward AJ Griffin to the Houston Rockets in exchange for the 44th pick in the 2024 NBA draft.
The Hawks selected the six-foot-six Duke product with the 16th overall pick back in 2022. He entered the league and delivered a promising rookie season, averaging 8.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and one assist across 72 games on an efficient 46.5 per cent shooting from the floor.
His sophomore campaign was a different story. Roster additions, along with leg and ankle injuries, significantly limited Griffin's playing time with the Hawks. His minutes dipped from 19.5 minutes in his rookie season to just 8.5 in 2023-24 — as he only suited up for 20 games and posted 2.3 points per game.
The Hawks had been exploring potential trade partners for Griffin since the deadline in February, per Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.
With the Portland Trailblazers owning the rights to Hawks second-round pick at 40th overall, this gets Atlanta back in the mix ahead of round two of the draft on Thursday.
