However, in a harbinger of things to come, Griffin was forced to finish his senior year via correspondence courses after getting in a fight with a teammate.

[4][5] Despite Griffin's freshman year at Seton Hall, the lingering question about his attitude saw him slip to the seventh overall pick of the 2001 NBA draft, where he was selected by the New Jersey Nets, who immediately traded the rights to him over to the Houston Rockets in exchange for those to Jason Collins, Brandon Armstrong, and Richard Jefferson (all of whom selected likewise in the 2001 draft).

Griffin signed with the Nets in January 2004, only to miss the entire 2003–04 season, when he entered an alcohol rehabilitation center.

Griffin had a significant drop-off in scoring and rebounding, albeit while suffering only a slight decrease in minutes and while averaging a career-high in blocks per game (2.11).

[7] Griffin's final NBA game was played on December 13, 2006, in a 82–95 Timberwolves loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

The Harris County Medical Examiner's office said the 25-year-old Griffin died of "multiple blunt force injuries."

The medical examiner's office performed tests on Griffin's bile and blood from his heart and liver and determined his blood-alcohol level was 0.26; the legal limit in Texas is 0.08.