Only ‘Godfather’ offers for Jerami Grant accepted

The vultures of the NBA are circling the Detroit Pistons, trying to pick off the juicey meat off the bones of what looks like a lost season. Target No. 1 is Jerami Grant, but the club should be very careful if they do trade him.

Suddenly, according to Shams Charania, ‘(SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED), there are ‘rumors’ that teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers are interested in Grant. The 6-foot-9 forward has added scoring punch to his game, after being known already for his fine defensive play, since coming to the Motor City last season.

Of course, Lakers fans always think every player wants to play for them:

The reasons for the sudden interest are obvious. Some teams are doing worse than expected and need to bolster themselves, while others are doing better than expected, so they want to load up for an unexpected playoff run.

In what has turned into a very competitive NBA season, where all but a handful of teams have a shot at making at least the play-in tournament, there are a lot more teams than usual looking to beef up their roster with an impact player.

The Pistons are one of the few who are, barring an incredible turnaround, not looking at post-season. They also have someone who can help a team contending or trying to be a contender: Jerami Grant.

There are not a lot of players who are averaging 20 points a game, have an Olympic gold medal, and are excellent on the defensive end  and also on a team with no playoff prospects. Charania says Pistons general manager Troy Weaver has been receiving a dozen teams a week, asking about Grant.

Pistons have upper hand in any Jerami Grant trade

Despite many, fun Internet trades, Detroit has really shown no interest in trading Grant in the past. He left the Denver Nuggets to play for them, has been an excellent player, and is on a reasonable contract that expires after the 2022-23 season (he is eligible for an extension this summer).

However, Charania says the Pistons are now open to trading Grant. The fact he is out for at least six weeks with a torn ligament in his right thumb has not halted the inquiries, that is how thin the trade market is.

Weaver, who has known Grant since his days in Oklahoma City, can afford to wait for a ‘Godfather’ offer, a term used for a trade offer so good, you could not refuse it.

The reasons Detroit can be so choosy in trading Grant are simple:

1. They do not have to do anything. Grant is not asking to leave and they will need good players hopefully sometime in the next couple of years. Detroit can sign Grant to an extension and keep him, and be fine with that.
2. The Pistons have no need to dump contracts to clear salary cap space. Grant at $20 million a year makes more than any other player, but, with Blake Griffin’s contract coming off the books this year, the Pistons have plenty of cap space to do whatever they want next off-season. Again, they are fine doing nothing.
3. Player(s) Detroit might get in a trade are not going to turn the team around at this point.

Help for the future is what the Pistons will want.

That means promising young players and lots of draft picks. The Pistons are not sitting on a big cache of first rounders, like an Oklahoma City. A fistful of first-rounders would certainly get Weaver’s attention. Throw in a promising young player who might not fit their current team’s system (James Wiseman?, Cam Reddish?) and now you will have Weaver’s attention.

The important thing is, the Pistons do not have to do anything.  Jerami Grant remaining with Detroit is just fine. It is the other teams that need to make a move to improve.

With Troy Weaver playing the role of Don Corleone, he can wait for an offer he can not refuse.