Detroit Pistons: Jerami Grant’s contract looks great in comparison

The Detroit Pistons took a risk when they signed free-agent Jerami Grant to a 3 year/$60 million deal last offseason.

The risk paid off, as Grant blew up in an expanded role and nearly won the Most Improved Player award while showing that he is far more than just a role player.

This led to an invite to Team USA and a gold medal for Grant, who now looks like one of the cornerstones of the Pistons’ restoration.

Yes, he is a bit older than some of the other players in the Pistons’ core, but Detroit still sees him as part of the long-term plans.

Detroit Pistons: Why it makes sense to re-sign Jerami Grant

Detroit has never been a top free agent destination, so the Pistons have either had to draft their stars or trade for them.

Grant is one of the few high profile free agents to ever sign with Detroit, though he was considered more of a quality role player than a star coming out of Denver.

Even though Grant is 27-years-old, he is still in his prime, and the Detroit Pistons can have the rest of it by re-signing him to an extension with a similar (or slightly higher) average annual salary.

Young teams need leaders, and Grant has proven he can be one on both ends of the floor, and as the young Pistons get better and Grant gets older, he can slide into a more complementary role than the one he had last season.

Let’s also not forget that Grant wanted to be in Detroit and chose to come to Motown even though Denver offered him the same amount of money.

Grant is the beginning of the culture change in Detroit and I think the Pistons should allow him to see it through to contention.

And when you look around the NBA, Grant’s contract looks like a steal in comparison to the deals some of these teams are giving out.

Detroit Pistons: Jerami Grant’s contract is a steal in comparison

Troy Weaver looks like a genius when you compare Jerami Grant’s contract to some of the ones that have been given out this offseason.

Grant averaged 22.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game in his first season with Detroit, enough to get him some votes for Most Improved Player. He did it at a cost of around $20 million per year, which is about minimum wage in the NBA these days for quality players.

Now let’s look at some of the other contracts given out this offseason:

• Lonzo Ball: 4 years/$85 million
• Duncan Robinson: 5 years/$90 million
• Terry Rozier: 4 years/$97 million
• Aaron Gordon: 4 years/$92 million

All of these players are good, but have major flaws and I think it’s safe to say that Jerami Grant is better than all of them.

The Gordon contract looks especially awful, as the Nuggets are the same team that failed to keep Jerami Grant and then had to shell out $92 million for a guy who averaged 10 points and 4.7 rebounds for them last season. Ouch.

Yes, Gordon is younger than Grant but also has an extensive injury history, so this one makes no sense to me, as it seems like Gordon should have gotten half of that at most.

Even former Detroit Piston Luke Kennard makes $16 million a year to score 8 points a game and catch DNP’s in the playoffs.

Jerami Grant’s contract might be the best non-rookie deal in the NBA right now, but what might an extension look like?

Detroit Pistons: Jerami Grant’s extension

The Detroit Pistons don’t have to do anything with Jerami Grant right now, as he still has two more years remaining on his contract.

They could wait and see how he fits with Cade Cunningham and the young core before ultimately deciding to re-sign him, but Grant is the kind of player who can play with just about any group, so I don’t think there will be a problem with fit.

I could see his extension going a couple of ways:

If Grant wants to sign a deal that would allow him the chance to get one last big contract before he is too far on the wrong side of 30, then I could see him signing a 3 year/$75 million extension to stay with the Pistons and that number could balloon up to 90 million if he makes an All-Star team in the next two seasons.

If the Pistons hope that Grant finishes his career with the team, then they could offer him the max next offseason (folding his final year into the deal) and give him a 5 year/$100 million extension, which might be the best deal for both sides, as Grant would get his long-term money and the Pistons would get the rest of his prime while the core develops.

Either way, Jerami Grant is a steal for the Detroit Pistons and will hopefully be with the team for a long time.