Pistons: A Proposed Jerami Grant trade to Memphis that makes sense

Detroit Pistons: Jerami Grant would be a nice fit in Memphis

It is obvious why Memphis would accept a trade like this. The team is entering win-now mode as their young star Ja Morant has taken the next step into NBA stardom. The team is looking to build off of their first-round exit in this year’s NBA Playoffs and truly become contenders next season.

On the offensive end, Grant would quickly assert himself as one of Memphis’ leading scorers. Memphis was without a 20-plus point per game scorer last season. Morant came the closest at 19.1 points per game. While Morant will likely take on a bigger scoring load next season to push his points per game totals into the 20s, Grant could easily slot in as the second scoring option behind him.

Both players would benefit immensely by playing together. Last season, Grant struggled to shoot the ball efficiently from the floor. Grant was a volume scorer last season and it showed. The 27-year-old shot 42.9 percent from the field and 35 percent from beyond the arc. While not terrible shooting splits, shooting the ball more efficiently would do a lot to help his case as a true All-Star caliber player. Morant had his own struggles with efficiency last season as well. His were mostly centered on his three-point shooting which was well below league average at 30.3 percent shooting.

By playing together, Grant would pull defensive pressure off of Morant and vise versa. Having two-star players who can create their own shots along with the scoring ability of Dillon Brooks in the fold, Memphis would have a formidable offense for defenses to gameplan against. Opposing teams would have to be wary of who they help off of when throwing doubles at either Morant or Grant. With both players alleviating defensive pressure off each other, both stars would likely see their scoring efficiency improve as a result.

Grant would be the ideal addition for a Memphis team looking to contend next season. The 27-year-old can create his own scoring opportunities, spot up from beyond the arc, and play very well on the defensive side of the court. If Memphis enters win-now mode as they are expected to, this trade makes perfect sense for them to pull off. Even with the loss of Jackson Jr. and Winslow, Memphis would have a very deep roster that could play competitively with any team in the league.

In his first year with Detroit, Grant has proven himself to be much more than just a role player. The forward’s addition to the Grizzlies would help their pursuit of contention and would also be a huge loss for the Pistons. If the Detroit Pistons were to seriously consider trading away Grant to a team like Memphis, they would need a return with upside similar to the one in this proposed trade.