Detroit Pistons could be third team in a Ben Simmons trade

The Detroit Pistons are going to be mentioned a lot at the trade deadline, as they are the worst team in the NBA and have a tradable asset in Jerami Grant.

A Grant trade may be inevitable, though I would be happy at this point if the Pistons were to keep him, as the last few games have proven that Detroit is dangerously low on actual NBA talent.

We’ve been hearing all season about how the Philadelphia 76ers are trying to trade Ben Simmons, which has been complicated by the fact that he hasn’t played, as well as their exorbitant asking price.

Philly isn’t going to just give Simmons away to make a move, but their leverage dissipates every day and it’s become clearer that other NBA teams aren’t going to give up a superstar for a disgruntled Simmons.

Recently, NBA insider Marc Stein (SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED) revealed that the Atlanta Hawks are the latest team rumored to have interest in Simmons.

The problem is that the Hawks don’t necessarily have all of the pieces to get it done, especially if Philly is going to hold out for a king’s ransom in return.

Could the Detroit Pistons get involved?

The Detroit Pistons could use Jerami Grant to facilitate Ben Simmons trade… for a price

I recently wrote about Atlanta being a possibility for a Jerami Grant trade, though he doesn’t seem like the perfect fit on paper. The Hawks have a couple of redundancies on the wing and Grant might just add to their minutes’ crunch even if they did a two for one deal.

Without giving up Trae Young or John Collins, the Hawks probably don’t have the pieces to get Simmons straight up and will likely need a third team to get involved to make a move.

Jerami Grant could be a piece in this, as he is not only a talented player that either Philly or Atlanta might want, but has a contract that would help make the deal work financially.

In return, the Pistons could take back young players and picks from Philly and Atlanta, which might be the best way to get maximum value for Jerami Grant.

Two-team deals are getting rarer in the NBA, as there always seems to be a deficit of either talent or money to get it done, so Detroit could help grease one of these big trades with their only real asset and reap the rewards of doing so.