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.
The Detroit Pistons trading Jerami Grant to the Hawks for John Collins
While a straight-up swap of Jerami Grant and John Collins works financially, it seems like the Hawks might be able to do better for a young star who is already locked into a contract.
To me, this would look like a steal for the Pistons, as Collins is just 24, still probably has another level and is locked into a reasonable deal that escalates up to $26 million in 2025-26, a number that may seem high now but will likely represent good value by then.
You’d be getting the prime years of a guy who has already shown he can be an impact player in the Eastern Conference Finals, is a nice fit with Cade Cunningham because of his superior efficiency and might already be better than Jerami now (no offense), so count me in if Jerami Grant is all it takes.
Am I wrong to think the Hawks would want another asset or two? I think Grant is a nice fit with them and might help Atlanta win more games right now, but is he really that much of an upgrade over Collins? I think Colllins’ age, production and contract make him the superior asset, so what else would the Pistons have to throw in to make this deal?
The Pistons could send back a Josh Jackson/Cory Joseph type veteran, but it’s hard for me to imagine that would be the best package the Hawks could get for John Collins. Killian Hayes could be an option if both teams really wanted a shake-up.
It doesn’t make sense for the Hawks and I am not sure it really makes sense for the Pistons.
The cost and long-term fit could scare the Pistons away
If the Atlanta Hawks wanted to trade for Jerami Grant straight up I think the Pistons would jump at it for all of the reasons I mentioned previously.
It seems like a no-brainer for Detroit but it would come with some amount of risk. First off, I have no idea if Atlanta is really keen to move John Collins and if they do, it could be a part of a bigger deal for someone like Ben Simmons, and I think they’d want more than just Grant.
So the Pistons would almost certainly be attaching other assets in this deal. They’d also be slotting Collins into one of their max salary spots in Cade Cunningham’s first or second season, which means you are making him a long-term piece.
Realistically, the Pistons will only have three max players at a time and you’ve now identified two of them. You have to be pretty certain that John Collins is a player you want to have around Cade Cunningham because you just attached the two for the foreseeable future.
For a team that has to draft or trade to get most of its talent, this would be one way to get a guy, but you have to make sure it’s the right guy. If Collins flopped in Detroit they’d be stuck with him taking up a max salary slot before Cade has even sniffed his prime.
The counter argument is that he’d mostly be on the books while Cade is still on his rookie deal, so he doesn’t hurt your long-term flexibility or affect Cunningham’s next contract, so why not? He’s a high-ceiling talent who could find another level with a bigger role as the second option next to Cade.
It’s an interesting idea, but there are a lot of question marks for both of these teams around any possible trade, though it seems to make a lot more sense for the Pistons.