Eddie article from TSN

An NBA baptism, Houston-style

October 30, 2001


This was Eddie Griffin's introduction to the working world. Growing up in Philadelphia, Griffin never had a job. "My parents worked," he says. "So I just went to school and played."

The night of the NBA draft marked Griffin's first attempt to land gainful employment. It was not how he pictured it. It was, as Griffin says, "Crazy. The craziest night of my life."

Griffin entered that night as a possible No. 1 overall pick -- he did not even work out for teams picking later than fifth. But he fell to the Nets at No. 7. Before Griffin could absorb that, though, he was traded from the Nets to the Rockets for three other rookies. Crazy, indeed.

"It was weird," Griffin says. "It would have been nice because New Jersey is close to home in Philly. But when I heard I got traded I was happy, because Houston is a better team than the Nets."

Such craziness served as a good primer for Griffin's first NBA summer, which has been nearly as hectic as draft night. He moved to Houston two weeks after the draft to get started on conditioning, thinking he would have to be much stronger to earn NBA minutes.

"My strength, my shooting and my defense," Griffin says. "I know I need to work on all of them, and I wanted to start right away. That's the only way I was going to get to play."

At that time, Griffin was a frontcourt afterthought for the Rockets, a young player who would be worked into the team's plans gradually. He is only 19, having left Seton Hall as a freshman after averaging 10.8 rebounds and 4.4 blocks. At 6-9, 220, he needed to get stronger.

Houston already had Hakeem Olajuwon at center, with Maurice Taylor starting at Griffin's preferred position, power forward. Kenny Thomas was backing up Taylor. Shandon Anderson was the small forward, backed up by Walt Williams. For Griffin, playing time would be scant.

But the summer was crazy for the Rockets, too. At every turn, the craziness has meant a bigger role for Griffin. First, Olajuwon was traded to Toronto. Then, Anderson was traded for perimeter shooter Glen Rice. Taylor tore the Achilles' tendon in his right leg and will miss this season. The Rockets attempted to sign a replacement for Taylor by making an offer to Warriors free agent Marc Jackson, but that was thwarted when the Warriors matched the offer.

The moves and mishaps have left Houston with Kelvin Cato at center and Thomas as the starting power forward. Griffin will back up Thomas and will play some at center behind Cato and Jason Collier. He also could play small forward if coach Rudy Tomjanovich uses a big lineup.

Ready or not, when Griffin clocks in for his first day on the job, he will be put to work right away.

"Hopefully, I am ready for it," he says. "I have a lot to learn, but I like the situation."