A Jerami Grant for John Collins trade is interesting but confusing

Jerami Grant #9 of the Detroit Pistons dunks against John Collins #20 of the Atlanta Hawks (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Jerami Grant #9 of the Detroit Pistons dunks against John Collins #20 of the Atlanta Hawks (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
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Detroit Pistons, Jerami Grant
Detroit Pistons forward Jerami Grant (9) and Atlanta Hawks forward John Collins Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

The Detroit Pistons and Jerami Grant have been attached to just about every trade rumor out there.

Recently the talk surrounded the Chicago Bulls, whose injury woes may have sped up their need for a trade.

Yesterday, the Atlanta Hawks were mentioned as a possible suitor for Jerami Grant, with John Collins name thrown into the mix, according to Jake Fischer at Bleacher Report.

Grant had been mentioned in rumors with Atlanta in the past ,but most of them revolved around a package with Cam Reddish. The Hawks ended up sending Reddish to the Knicks, but according to Fischer are now ramping up their efforts to deal Collins for some reason.

The Hawks have underachieved this season (or maybe overachieved last season) but Collins is a young and very good player locked into a long-term contract, not the kind of guy you normally trade away.

That’s one of the reasons a Jerami Grant trade to the Hawks doesn’t make much sense.

Jerami Grant vs. John Collins

Both of these guys are very good players who do a little bit of everything.

Collins is a consistent 17 points/8 rebounds guy with strong shooting numbers from in and outside the arc as a secondary option for the Hawks.

He shoots 42.6 percent from 3-point range on just over three attempts per game and shoots 53.7 percent overall.

Jerami Grant scores 20 points per game and grabs 4.8 rebounds but does it on much-worse shooting numbers of 33 percent from long range on 5.3 attempts and just 41 percent overall.

Neither player is great at setting up teammates but Grant has a slight edge in assists, which you would expect given his much-higher usage (Grant 26.6% to Collins 19.9%).

I’d say Grant is the superior defender overall but they both average 1.1 blocks per game.

Collins is only 24 and Grant is 27. Collins is a more efficient player who has thrived mostly off the ball while Jerami Grant has often been the number one option in Detroit.

I honestly don’t see why Atlanta would do this unless they really want to get out from Collins’ contract, as swapping Collins for Grant seems like a lateral move at best.

If the Hawks don’t like the fit of Trae Young and Collins, then it makes some sense to break them up now, but it seems like they could get more than just Jerami Grant for a promising young star.