Maybe teams aren’t that desperate
One theory around why Jerami Grant was valuable is that there are so many teams in contention that one of them might think he’s the piece that will push them over the top.
Another way to look at it is that the NBA is so equal right now that teams might not think they need another piece to win it all.
I was shocked that Portland wasn’t able to get a single asset for a guy like Powell, as I would have thought he’d garner at least a first-round pick, but that wasn’t the case.
I am sure Portland did their homework and found that there wasn’t a team out there willing to give up any real assets for a guy who scores 18 a game.
Jerami Grant is a nice player who could help any number of contending teams, but it’s not clear that any of them are going to give up a big haul of assets to get him, as any of the teams mentioned in Jerami Grant rumors could have jumped in and made a better offer for Powell.
This Powell trade kicked off the trade deadline flurry but didn’t help the Detroit Pistons, as it set a low market for sellers and showed that teams might be willing to stand pat rather than trade future assets.