AJ Griffin is coming off a season where he appeared in 20 games for the Atlanta Hawks.

The former Duke star averaged 2.4 points per contest in limited playing time (8.6 MPG).

Over the offseason, the Hawks traded Griffin to the Houston Rockets.

Via Adrian Wojnarowski on June 27: “ESPN Sources: The Atlanta Hawks are trading F AJ Griffin to the Houston Rockets for the 44th pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft. Griffin, 20, was a 2022 first-round pick out of Duke.”

However, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that Griffin will be bought out by the Rockets and is expected to retire.

Via Charania: “Rockets are waiving AJ Griffin via contract buyout, as he is expected to step away from basketball at 21 years old after two NBA seasons, sources said.”

Many people reacted to the news on social media.

One person who sent out a post was NFL legend Chad Johnson.

Legion Hoops wrote: “BREAKING: AJ Griffin is stepping away from basketball at 21-years-old, per @ShamsCharania“

Johnson responded: “💔”

Griffin was the 16th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft and had a productive rookie season in Atlanta.

He averaged 8.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists per contest while shooting 46.5% from the field and 39.0% from the three-point range in 72 games.

As for Johnson, he is one of the best wide receivers of all time.

He still remains very active in podcasting and social media.

The 46-year-old has over 3.1 million followers on X.