It seems every failed contender thinks they are just a Jerami Grant away from winning the title, but that doesn’t mean the Detroit Pistons are going to trade him.
Grant has been a mainstay in trade rumors this offseason which makes sense. He is a very good player on a rebuilding team whose contract might be up before the Pistons are really ready to compete.
With four rookies forming the foundation of the team, some feel Grant doesn’t fit the “timeline” of Pistons’ future contention.
Of all the cliches fans use online, “timeline” might be my least favorite, as it mistakenly assumes that all good teams are all the same age for some reason.
Yes, adding Lebron James to a team full of rookies makes no sense, but nearly all good teams have a mixture of youth and veterans. Eventually the Pistons want to be good, not just a scrappy team with “hope,” so I am not against adding the right veterans to complement what they already have.
But I digress.
Troy Weaver knows this, which is why he is not going to give Jerami Grant to a contender for a young player “who fits the timeline” and a bunch of garbage picks.
Detroit Pistons: Trade Jerami Grant for who?
So far this offseason I have seen rumors of Jerami Grant going to the Celtics, Lakers, Mavericks, Wizards?, Pelicans, Warriors and Trail Blazers.
The commonality is that every trade involves the contender giving up nothing but a player they don’t want anyway and a bunch of low picks, as if the Pistons don’t have a say in the matter.
Of course, most of these are being written by bloggers who are trying to fill space and believe me I feel their pain.
They also suggest trade packages that help their team and have no regard for the Detroit Pistons, who are apparently a desperate franchise who will give away their best player for nothing in these scenarios.
So, sorry to your favorite contending team, but you aren’t getting Jerami Grant.
Detroit Pistons: Proposed Jerami Grant trades are joke
I actually saw an article today suggesting that the Pistons would trade Jerami Grant to the Lakers for Kyle Kuzma and three first round picks.
Do the Lakers even have three first round picks in the next century? Even if they did, this is hardly enough to get Grant who is about five times better than Kuzma, wants to be in Detroit and pretty much embodies everything the Pistons are trying to build.
When it comes to picks, quantity doesn’t trump quality, as these proposed picks will all be in the late first round and not move the needle at all for the Detroit Pistons, who actually want to be good and not just hoard draft picks forever.
But this is the type of deal you most often see: Our contending team will give you a bum player we don’t want anyway plus a bunch of garbage picks!
Most of the contenders in the league don’t have the type of assets necessary to get a guy like Grant, who is one of the best two-way wings in the NBA.
Hard pass.
The Detroit Pistons have no reason to rush a trade
Some fans are worried that Grant will “lose his value” if the Pistons wait to trade him, which is also pretty silly.
Grant has always been a reliable player who has remained relatively injury free and has improved every year he’s been in the league.
There is no reason to think he is going to fall off the face of the Earth when he is still in his prime. The Pistons have him locked up at a very team-friendly price of $20 million per season for the next two years.
If they still aren’t sniffing the playoffs next season, then it might make sense to move Grant, as he’d be an expiring contract who would have even more value to a contender not looking to add long-term money.
Every trade that is here now will be there at the trade deadline, then next offseason, then the trade deadline after that. In fact, those trade offers might be even better then, as Grant will be owed less money.
I’m not saying Troy Weaver won’t trade Grant for the right offer, but it will have to be something that significantly moves the needle, otherwise there is no rush and the Pistons can wait and move Grant (or not) in the future and still get the same package.
The Detroit Pistons want to win sometime soon
Troy Weaver is trying to “restore” the Pistons to their former greatness. This is team with three titles and a long history of winning, something we’d like to get back to sometime soon.
The Phoenix Suns won 19 games two years ago and are headed to the Western Conference Finals now, which shows you how quickly things can turn in the NBA.
The Pistons are a young team, yes, but with the right additions they could be in contention for the play-in spot next season and will make the playoffs soon after that if things go right.
You can’t just keep kicking the can down the road in the name of “development” and “timeline,” as winning is the point and the Detroit Pistons want to win.
If the Pistons end up with a top-four pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, who’s to say they can’t make the playoffs next season?
With the right free agent or trade, who’s to say they can’t be one of these contenders in a year or two, when Jerami Grant’s team-friendly contract and production will be invaluable?
I’m sick of fans of other teams treating the Pistons like they are a farm team for contenders and not trying to become one themselves.
Jerami Grant is not untouchable, but your favorite contending team is not getting him for a poo poo platter of players you don’t want and late first-round draft picks.