Blake Griffin won't suit up for the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
But Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy spent a good part of Monday examining how to introduce the power forward's talents into his system.
Van Gundy is eager to deploy his new toy, which could come Thursday night when the Memphis Grizzlies visit Little Caesars Arena.
Griffin's resume as a five-time All-Star makes the price (Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanovic and future picks) worth it for the franchise.
"The hardest thing to do in this league is to get a proven star," Van Gundy said Tuesday morning. "It's just very hard to do. It's hard to do in free agency, it's hard to do in trades.
"You get very few opportunities to do it. The guy's a five-time All-Star, he's been an All-NBA guy. (He's one of the) top-15 guys in the league. He's only 28 years old. We know the injury history. That's the risk on it, but that risk was worth it because of the talent we're bringing back."
The Los Angeles Clippers and the Pistons stunned the NBA on Monday when news of the trade broke.
The Pistons also get seldom-used forward Brice Johnson and backup center Willie Reed, but the focus is Griffin.
Griffin, an All-Star each of his first five seasons in the NBA, is averaging 22.6 points and 7.9 rebounds this season. He has struggled with injuries in the past four seasons, and missed his entire rookie season with a left knee injury. He has not played more than 67 games since 2014-15.
The former No. 1 overall draft pick signed a five-year, $171 million contract last July. He's scheduled to make $31.8 million next season, $34.2 million in 2019-20, $36.5 million in 2020-21 and has a player option for $38.9 million in 2021-22.
Griffin is scheduled to arrive in Detroit on Tuesday night, and the hope is he will have an introductory news conference Wednesday.
He met with owner Tom Gores on Monday night in Los Angeles, and while there is speculation he isn't happy to be going to the Pistons only months after signing an expensive new contract, the shock is more at leaving the franchise that drafted him in 2009.
"We are serious about winning, and this is a major move to improve our team," Gores said in a statement. "Blake Griffin is one of the NBA's elite players, and when you get an opportunity to add that kind of talent, you take it."
