Desperate Boston Celtics Sign Blake Griffin After String Of Bad Injury News

A few years ago, the Boston Celtics signing Blake Griffin would have been huge news. Unfortunately for all concerned, Griffin is no longer playing like a six-time All-Star. After starting just 24 games with the Detroit Pistons, the 33-year-old power forward signed a one-year, $2.9 million deal with a Boston team desperate to add big bodies to the roster after a series of bad health breaks.

It began with forward Danilo Gallinari tearing his ACL in a FIBA World Cup qualifier, an injury that will keep him out for the duration of the season barring some sort of medical miracle. The loss of their major free agent signing of the offseason was doubly painful because he was expected to occasionally start in place of veteran big Al Horford, whom the Celtics hope to avoid overworking during the regular season.

Then came the news that starting center Robert Williams would undergo a second knee operation, one that is expected to keep him off the court for 8-to-12 weeks. Instead of being able to rest Horford early in the season, the Celtics were in the position where they were going to have to pencil him in as the everyday center. On top of everything else, backup big Luke Kornet has been diagnosed with a sprained ankle that will sideline him for a few weeks of training camp.

In order to sign Griffin, Boston had to cut Denzel Valentine. It’s a shame he won’t get a chance to prove himself in training camp but at this point the Celtics’ immediate frontcourt needs meant that there wasn’t room for him.

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If there’s a major criticism to be made here it’s that, after losing so many big men to injury, the Celtics have decided to sign a player on the wrong side of 30 who has a checkered injury history. You would think that the Celtics would prioritize durability and reliability, but this doesn’t seem to be the case here.

Griffin played just 17.1 minutes per game in Brooklyn while averaging just 6.4 points and 4.1 assists. His defense has also been a serious issue, which isn’t ideal for a team whose identity is wrapped up in how well it can stifle opposing offenses. Then again, if he were coming off a more productive year, another team would have already picked up Griffin.

Maybe starting point guard Marcus Smart has the right mentality about the Celtics’ most recent audition. Speaking with Sports Illustrated, Smart dismissed any thoughts of trying to play the role of Chris Paul and recreate the past when playing with his new teammate.

“Obviously,” Smart told Sports Illustrated, “Lob City Blake and that Blake Griffin, he’s not there, he’s not above the rim anymore, but he still does great things. He’s a great professional. Last year, he led the league in charges taken, which is, for a guy that doesn’t play as much, or didn’t play as much as him, that speaks volumes about what he does.”

If all goes right for the Celtics, they won’t need much more from Griffin than that: a backup big with veteran smarts who might still be capable of an occasional impressive scoring night. Assuming that Williams returns and is healthy, it’s likely that Griffin will slide down Boston’s depth chart and that won’t be a bad thing. If the team finds itself in a position where they need regular contributions from him, that probably means things have pointedly not gone right.