Houston Rockets trade second-round pick to Hawks for AJ Griffin

The Houston Rockets have traded the 44th pick in the 2024 NBA draft to the Atlanta Hawks, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was first to report. In exchange, the Rockets received forward AJ Griffin. The former Duke prospect played in 20 games for the Hawks last season and was a first-round pick (16th overall) in 2022.

Before knee injuries hampered his development, Griffin showcased his talents as a rookie during the 2022-23 season.

In 72 games played with a dozen starts, Griffin averaged 8.9 points while shooting .465/.390/.894. He scored a career-best 24 points in Atlanta’s 19-point win over the Milwaukee Bucks in November 2022. Griffin is the son of former NBA player and coach Adrian Griffin, who played with the Rockets during the 2003-24 season.

General manager Rafael Stone believes the Rockets came out of the first round of the 2024 NBA draft with the “best player.” Houston selected Reed Sheppard with the third overall pick, a prospect Stone has been fond of since his high school days at North Laurel High School.

Unless Houston goes back in the second round, the Rockets have wrapped up the 2024 NBA Draft. Stone said Wednesday night that he doesn’t think there’s a second-round prospect who could add value to the team’s roster. Houston.

“At this point, we don’t expect to hire anyone to fill a dire need,” Stone said. “We really love our team. We love all of our returning players. We think we don’t have any dire needs. »

Would you like to join the discussion? Like Inside the Rockets on Facebook and Follow us on twitter to stay up to date with all the latest Rockets news. You can also meet the team responsible for the coverage.