Houston Rockets forward AJ Griffin is considering stepping away from the NBA in advance of what would have been his third professional season, The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Kelly Iko reported Thursday.

After an encouraging rookie season (2022-23) in which Griffin averaged 8.9 points (39.0% on 3-pointers) for the Atlanta Hawks in 19.5 minutes, he played in only 20 games as an NBA sophomore (at just 8.6 minutes per game) while dealing with on-court struggles and off-court tragedy.

The Rockets acquired Griffin at a minimal cost in June as something of a reclamation project, but the former Duke product — drafted at No. 16 overall in the 2022 first round — largely struggled with Houston’s 2024 summer-league team.

Now, at just 21 years old, Griffin and the Rockets are both “preparing for his departure from the game,” Charania and Iko report.

Griffin was slated to make $6.0 million this season in the third and final guaranteed year of his rookie-scale contract. He was not expected to feature in the initial 2024-25 playing rotation for Rockets head coach Ime Udoka, whose more established options at the forward spots include Dillon Brooks, Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason, Amen Thompson, Jae’Sean Tate, and Jeff Green.

Griffin could have received significant playing time with Houston’s NBA G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Vipers, while attempting to work his way back into rookie-season form. But at least for now, that doesn’t seem to be in the cards.

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This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Rockets, AJ Griffin reportedly preparing for his departure from NBA