It’s still unclear how serious the Detroit Pistons are about a Jerami Grant trade, but the recent Norman Powell deal probably didn’t help the market.
Powell was traded (along with Robert Covington) from the Trail Blazers to the Clippers in exchange for Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, Keon Johnson and a 2025 second-round draft pick.
This is an underwhelming haul, as Bledsoe is washed, Winslow is officially worse than Stanley Johnson (we won!!), and Keon Johnson hasn’t really played. The pick is ultimately meaningless, so the Blazers essentially gave away two productive players for nothing.
Powell is a proven 18-20 ppg scorer who shoots over 40 percent from long range, while Covington has long been one of the better 3-and-D role players in the league.
This trade was not a good sign for the Detroit Pistons or the market for Jerami Grant for several reasons.
Two teams are definitely out on Jerami Grant
The Portland Trail Blazers were one of the many teams connected to a possible Grant trade, although it’s unclear why since they are currently out of the play-in tournament and sinking fast.
This move shows that they are more interested in saving money than getting wins, as Damian Lillard is still out and they were going nowhere anyway, so it makes sense to shed some payroll, get under the tax and start thinking about next season.
The Clippers were never really mentioned as a destination for Jerami Grant, but they were another possibility taken off the table by this trade, which they very clearly won.
While removing these two teams from a potential Grant bidding war does not mean he won’t be traded, it does remove some of the competition and also sets the market for what they might get.
If that’s what the Detroit Pistons will get for Jerami Grant, then keep him
My first reaction to the Powell trade was “that’s it?!?”
Powell is a good player who can absolutely be the third option on a title contender, which is exactly what the Clippers are hoping they just got.
Covington is not bad himself, so I thought this was a gross underpay for these two players and showed just how desperate the Trail Blazers were to get under the tax.
Jerami Grant is marginally better than Powell when you factor in defense, but they are pretty close to the same tier. When you add in Covington, I’d say the two of them are more valuable than Grant.
Is this the type of deal the Pistons can expect to get in a Jerami Grant trade? If so, count me out, as this was a poo poo platter of mediocre players and a worthless pick.
Grant is still on a value contract for next season and I’d rather let him play it out and walk for nothing than take a deal like this.
I don’t know how teams around the NBA view Grant as compared to Powell, but I can’t imagine teams giving up significantly more for Grant when they could have had Powell for so little.
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.