After a brief respite, the Jerami Grant trade rumors are starting to heat up again and the Detroit Pistons reportedly have a lot of options.
At least a dozen teams have reportedly expressed interest in Grant, with everyone from the Lakers, Trail Blazers, Bulls, Knicks, Jazz, Wizards, Celtics, Pacers, Timberwolves and Kings all testing the waters.
This gives the Pistons all of the leverage in any move and they can just wait to see how the market shapes up, choose the best deal or walk away if they don’t get one they like.
According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, the Pistons are looking for either two first-round picks or a promising young player and a pick in exchange for Jerami Grant.
There are plenty of teams that could make such an offer, but to be honest, most of the ones I’ve seen fall short of the type of deal that would be an obvious win for Detroit.
The Detroit Pistons don’t have to trade Jerami Grant
I’ve said this a million times, but the Detroit Pistons are not under any real pressure to deal Grant right now.
He is still under contract for next season, so the Pistons could just let this season play out, see how things go in the draft and free agency and move Grant in the offseason or even before next year’s trade deadline.
He’ll still have value next season on an expiring deal and there will be just as many teams who fancy themselves contenders, as the NBA is wide open right now and the play-in tournament has put more teams in contention than ever before.
It’s likely that the same kind of deal would be there next season, so it might behoove the Pistons to just wait and see what happens.
Also, a team with Jerami Grant might actually be good, especially if Detroit gets their guy in the draft.
The 2022 NBA Draft, Jerami Grant and the Detroit Pistons
Jerami Grant seems to have a great relationship with GM Troy Weaver, as Grant reportedly chose the Pistons over the Nuggets because he wanted to play for a “Black coach and Black GM in a Black city” according to our friend James Edwards III.
It’s going to a take a Godfather offer for Weaver to break up with Grant, as this is the kind of guy he wants to build around: Grant is versatile, hard-working, plays on both ends and actually wants to be in Detroit.
Weaver has talked a lot about character, work ethic and versatility and Grant embodies all of those things. Also, the NBA has embraced position-less basketball where two-way wings are the most valuable players, so why not just hoard a bunch of them and see what happens?
Let’s say the Pistons end up with Paolo Banchero in the draft, are we sure they wouldn’t be the Eastern Conference’s surprise team next season?
- Cade Cunningham
- Saddiq Bey
- Jerami Grant
- Paolo Banchero
- Deandre Ayton/Mitchell Robinson/Isaiah Stewart etc…
I threw a few different options in there at center just to give an idea of what it could look like. I get that Bey is not a shooting guard and Grant is probably not a small forward, but who cares? This team would be long, versatile, athletic and have the kind of play-making wings that every team now covets.
Call me crazy, but I’d prefer something like this to most of the deals I’ve seen floated around, which bring back more “potential” and “hope,” but little actual NBA talent.
Sub in Jabari Smith or Chet Holmgren and you have a similarly versatile squad that would be fun as hell to watch and might actually make some noise in the East and still have room to grow.
The Detroit Pistons could make a huge leap next season
It’s hard to imagine that a team headed for it’s 3rd-straight 20-win season might actually be good next year, but if things shake out right they absolutely could.
If the Pistons keep Jerami Grant and end up with a roster like the one I described, I guarantee they will be everyone’s pre-season long shot to make the playoffs.
Cade Cunningham is getting better and I expect he is going to make a big leap with a full offseason of NBA training that hopefully doesn’t include an injury to slow him down.
Saddiq Bey looks like a solid piece as well, a guy who has expanded his game and is figuring things out. Add in Grant, a top-4 (hopefully) NBA Draft pick and a free agent or two and you are going to have a very interesting team.
Trading Grant may bring more “potential” but count me as one of the fans that would like to see Detroit actually win games at some point in my lifetime and not look like an impatient teenager’s NBA2K roster.
Unlike video games, young players take time to get good in the real NBA and to continue to delay that in the name of “potential” is doing a disservice to the fans that pay for this product and want to be entertained, not just strung along with hope.
If I had to guess, I’d say the Pistons probably will trade Jerami Grant before the deadline, as there are so many teams involved that the right offer will probably emerge, but it’s not the end of the world if they don’t and their future might actually be more exciting.