Blake Griffin, 33, has joined the Boston Celtics on a one-year, fully-guaranteed contract, according to ESPN and The Athletic on Friday.

Having made 56 appearances (24 as a starter) for the Brooklyn Nets last season, Griffin averaged 6.4 points and 4.1 rebounds. He was almost abandoned by coach Steve Nash during the playoffs when he only played a total of 25 minutes in two games.

Griffin became a free agent this summer before the Celtics signed him. Though he is no longer the explosive big man who made a series of giants his dunking background after injuries took away most of his athleticism, Griffin can still play as a qualified center in a small-ball squad. He has good enough size and power to tussle with monsters like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid, which is very important for a title contender in the Eastern Conference like the Celtics.

The Celtics signed Italian veteran forward Danilo Gallinari during the offseason to enhance their bench depth, but Gallinari was likely ruled out for the 2022-23 season after tearing the ACL in his left knee during the FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifier game against Georgia in late August.

Griffin is unlikely to offer the scoring ability of Gallinari who averaged 11.7 points and 1.7 triples at a 38.1 percent of the 3-point rate for the Atlanta Hawks last season. By contrast, Griffin only made 0.7 shots from downtown at 26.2 percent per game during the 2021-22 campaign.

Fortunately for both him and the Celtics, Al Horford was a big man spacer and so was Grant Williams. Considering that the team’s elite defensive center Robert Williams III may need months to recover from his knee surgery, Griffin can be added to either the starting lineup or bench unit of the Celtics, without hurting the team's spacing. He is not able to finish efficiently as Williams III does under the rim, but Griffin is a much better passer who can shoulder some orchestrating duties.