AJ Griffin

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Atlanta Hawks

Atlanta Completes Three-Team Trade with Houston and Miami

ATLANTA&nbsp;– The Atlanta Hawks&nbsp;completed a three-team trade with the Houston Rockets and Miami Heat, it was announced today. Atlanta acquires the draft rights of Nikola Djurišić (No. 43 overall pick in 2024 NBA Draft) from Miami, in exchange for cash considerations. Additionally, Houston acquires Hawks guard AJ Griffin, while Miami acquires the draft rights to Pelle Larsson (No. 44 overall pick in 2024 NBA Draft) from Houston.

Djurišić (yur-ih-chitch) appeared in 30 Adriatic League contests (all starts) with Mega (Serbia) during the 2023-24 season, tallying 15.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.2 steals in 30.6 minutes of play (.463 FG%, .336 3FG%, .745 FT%). His 15.4 points per game ranked sixth in the Adriatic League. 

The 6-7 guard saw action in 36 total games during the 2023-24 campaign (34 starts) across four leagues (Liga ABA, KLS, ABA Supercup, Serbian RK Cup), recording 14.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.2 steals in 29.9 minutes (.444 FG%, .305 3FG%, .763 FT%).

The 2022-23 Adriatic League Top Prospect Award winner was named the U19 Adriatic Junior League MVP and 2021-22 EuroLeague Adidas Next Generation Tournament (NGT) MVP.

Djurišić, who is a two-time All-NGT Team selection (2020-21, 2021-22), represents Serbia on the Senior National Team.

Griffin was selected by the Hawks with the 16th&nbsp;overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Named to the 2023 Jordan Rising Stars Game, the Duke product has appeared in 92 games (12 starts) over the course of his two seasons in Atlanta, averaging 7.5 points and 1.9 rebounds in 17.1 minutes (.447 FG%, .372 3FG%, .898 FT%).

atlanta-hawks-acquire-draft-rights-to-nikola-djurisic

Atlanta Hawks Acquire Draft Rights to Nikola Djurisic

ATLANTA&nbsp;– The Atlanta Hawks have exercised the fourth-year (2024-25) contract option on forward Jalen Johnson and the third-year (2024-25) option on guard AJ Griffin, it was announced today. Per team policy, terms of the agreements were not disclosed.

Johnson, the 20th overall selection in the 2021 NBA Draft by the Hawks, has appeared in 92 career games (six starts) tallying 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in 12.6 minutes (.496 FG%, .635 FT%). He has also appeared in eight playoff contests across two postseason runs with Atlanta, recording 3.3 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.0 assist in 8.1 minutes.

He saw action in 70 games (six starts) during the 2022-23 season, registering 5.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 14.9 minutes of play (.491 FG%, .628 FT%). 

In his first career start on Dec. 2, 2022, against the Denver Nuggets, Johnson recorded his first career double-double, finishing with 10 points on 5-9 shooting from the field, 10 rebounds, four assists, and one block in 33 minutes. He became the first Hawk to notch a point/rebound double-double in his first start with the club since John Collins did so on Nov. 22, 2017.

Griffin was selected by the Hawks with the No. 16 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. The second-year guard saw action in 72 games (12 starts) during his rookie campaign, notching 8.9 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.0 assist in 19.5 minutes (.465 FG%, .390 3FG%, .894 FT%). Griffin’s .390 mark from three-point range marked the second-highest clip amongst his rookie class (using same qualifiers for regular season leaders).

Named a 2023 Jordan Rising Star, Griffin connected on 101 total three-pointers during the 2022-23 season, the fifth-most by a member of his rookie class and the fourth-most by a Hawks rookie since the adoption of the three-point line. Griffin knocked down his 100th&nbsp;career triple in a win against Washington on April 5, 2023. At 19 years, 223 days, he became the third-youngest player in NBA history to bury 100 three-pointers, trailing only Kobe Bryant (19 years, 176 days) and Kevin Knox II (19 years, 218 days).

Griffin knocked down two buzzer-beating, game-winning shots during the 2022-23 campaign: Nov. 19 vs. Toronto and Dec. 11 vs. Chicago. Per Elias Sports, the 6-6 guard became the first Hawk over the last 25 seasons to have multiple buzzer-beating, game-winning shots in the same season.

atlanta-hawks-exercise-contract-options-on-jalen-johnson-and-aj-griffin

Atlanta Hawks Exercise Contract Options on Jalen Johnson and AJ Griffin

Aaron Holiday shoved AJ Griffin in a game late this season against the Washington Wizards.

Holiday's shove, of course, came with the best of intentions as he looked out for his 19-year-old rookie teammate.

To put the push into context, Holiday had just hit a three, and as the Wizards returned&nbsp;down the floor to run a set play against a set defense, they dribbled the ball up on the right sideline. Meanwhile, Griffin steadied himself to guard a shooter who was about to sprint out of the far left corner around a screen and up to the top of the key.&nbsp;

Griffin poised himself well to avoid the screener – but it was only the first half of a double screen. He was about to get sandwiched on the second half. Fortunately for Griffin, Holiday reached out to his hip and nudged him out of harm's way.

The recipient did not even notice, at least not to the point when he was asked about it a couple of hours afterward.

"I don't remember it," Griffin said after the game with a laugh, "but it feels so, so good to be able to have teammates like that," Griffin said. "It just shows the love that they have for me, and I really appreciate it. It's a different feeling when you have teammates that have your back and want the best for you and are happy when you're doing good and trying to help you when you're struggling."

Even though a deep roster and the expectations of a playoff team limited Griffin to the back end of the playing rotation, he did some amazing things in his rookie season. Some were more obvious, like his two buzzer-beating&nbsp;game winners&nbsp;and his terrific 3-point shooting. Some were more subtle and now require a bit of context to get at the full picture of what he accomplished.

Griffin and his head coach, Quin Snyder, both learned a lot about basketball from the same person, former Duke University head coach Mike Krzyzewski, albeit 33 years apart. In Griffin, Snyder sees a young man who has already learned a lot about basketball from his father, former NBA player and&nbsp;current Toronto Raptors&nbsp;assistant coach, Adrian Griffin, and the other coaches like Krzyzewski for whom he has played while growing up.&nbsp;

And a big part of that equation is that he is eager to&nbsp;be&nbsp;coached.

"His perspective for a young&nbsp;guy is – well, you talk about being coachable," Snyder said. "His offense sticks out because he can make shots and he can make plays. He is continuing to evolve where he can even use his offensive abilities and shooting to make plays for other people. He is selfless enough to want to do that. Defensively, he is dialed in. We're trying to defend collectively, but ultimately, everybody has got to contribute to that by doing their job, and that is something that I've&nbsp;seen from him. There is a willingness to (him) doing that. And he has probably been told that a few times in his life."

In his first NBA season, Griffin has already proven to be one of the Hawks' most reliable 3-point shooters, hitting 101 of his 259 attempts (39.0 percent). Those 101 makes were fifth-best among rookies from the 2022 NBA Draft, and only Keegan Murray of the Sacramento Kings hit more threes at a rate as accurate as AJ did. He also made 42 of his 47 free-throw attempts (89.4 percent).

While those numbers are certainly notable, to get a full impression of what AJ did in his rookie season on offense, one needs to delve a bit further into the numbers. His 3-point shooting form has a wonderful physical balance to it.

He takes a wide stance with his right foot in front of his left and every shot attempt looks exactly the same. Because of his accuracy, opposing defenses showed a willingness to sell out to take away his attempts, get into the airspace above his shot locations, and force him to drive the basketball to the rim.

Perhaps that skill, putting the ball on the deck and making a play off the bounce, is the one spot where AJ's maturity and sophistication as a basketball player stood out most. According to the NBA's tracking data, Griffin drove to the basket 201 times over the course of the season. He turned the ball over on 11 of them. A turnover rate of 5.1 percent is preposterously low for any NBA player, let alone a teenager getting his first reps at the task.

The Hawks were not really asking him to be a playmaker per se on those drives – he was driving primarily to score – but he kept his dribble out of peril, avoided double teams, and made the right pass when the play called for a reset. It was meticulously clean basketball.

There was a patience to those drives. He would find a seam drive to the middle of the paint and look for a shot. If the space to shoot was there, great! If not, he had a head fake and a foot pivot (and possibly two or three) to make some. It was as if he had a time machine to the 1980s to transform from 6-6 NBA guard Adrian Griffin Jr. into 6-foot-5 post player and All-Star Adrian Dantley.

Late in the season, Griffin noted that one of the skills on which he was working was to improve at&nbsp;making moves off two feet in the paint, but in the meantime, his post game off one foot suits Coach Snyder just fine.

"Triple moves are OK," Snyder said. "You saw him pivot. When he keeps the possession alive that way, he is able to read what the defense is doing. If they extend, you saw a few last night, he stepped through with his left hand and laid the ball in. That is very different than&nbsp;getting to a spot and rising up, which he is capable of doing. Those are things that I would like to see more (of a) situational&nbsp;(approach), whether it is late-clock or things like that. He has got the ability to create. He can create for other people as well.&nbsp; And he can do that, and that is what we want to put for a lot of guys at the front of their brain because that helps us in every facet."

As a result, Griffin shot better than the league average at nearly every type of shot on the floor. Per StatMuse, Griffin&nbsp;had the highest effective field-goal percentage ever for an NBA teenager with 200 or more three-point attempts: 56.0 percent.

Griffin has already shown a lot of promise on the defensive end, and he will get better with age, strength, and experience.&nbsp;

"It's all new to him," Snyder said. "He's like a sponge. He is going to make mistakes, but I think those are all things that you expect on some level, but there is just such a willingness on his part. And you've seen some possessions where he is in a stance he will pull up on somebody and level them off with his chest."

The step that cannot be skipped is the repetitions. As a wing player, Griffin will often be guarding other wings who are working away from the ball as he was on the play when Holiday nudged him on his hip.&nbsp;

"It is off the ball where he is going to continue to improve," Snyder added. "It is like anything: If you see those situations over and over, you just get better at processing them. It is not necessarily even a conscious&nbsp;thing. But I've been really happy. You can tell there is a care factor there and that is the most important thing. As for the rest, he is intelligent. He is talented. He is big. If he just keeps working at it, he'll just keep getting better."

Certainly, Griffin will keep up putting in the effort. He has what can easily be summed up as a growth mindset as he tries to improve headed into Year 2.

"That's the joy about playing basketball," he said. "You get to see what you need to work on, and you come back next year stronger and better. I'm excited."

AJ Griffin

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