The NBA trading deadline has now passed. Any more rumors about who is going where, must be put off now until the season is over. The Detroit Pistons, as usual, were active. But not in the way most NBA observers expected.
Despite massive speculation, forward Jerami Grant was still a member of the Detroit Pistons when the trade deadline came and went.
Grant was one of the few top-line players who reportedly could be had for the right price, but general manager Troy Weaver did not, apparently, get what he was looking for.
Grant, unlike James Harden and Ben Simmons, was not pushing for a trade, and will be quite content to stay in Detroit.
Jerami Grant remains with the Detroit Pistons as NBA trade deadline ends. Grant and the Pistons have comfortability with each other moving forward.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 10, 2022
Were not going to go through all the various teams rumored to be interested in the Olympic gold medalist. But some of them, like the Kings, Mavericks and Pacers, found other partners to trade with. The Lakers, despite their fans doing everything but drooling at the thought of Grant, ended up doing nothing.
Basically, the future of Jerami Grant and the Pistons has been pushed to the summer. Detroit will have three options.
- Trade him
- Sign Grant to an extension (he is eligible for a four year, $121 million deal)
- Let Grant play out the last year of his contract, and maybe deal him next trade deadline.
Whatever the future holds, Jerami Grant will be playing, at least, the rest of the season for Detroit. So if you bought a Grant jersey, you are good.
Josh Jackson, Trey Lyles gone, welcome Marvin Bagley III to Detroit Pistons
Hey, who wouldn’t want a player who was drafted ahead of Luka Doncic and Trae Young by an NBA organization.
In the non-Jerami Grant trade news, the Pistons were part of a four-team trade involving the Sacramento Kings, Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers.
Bottom line for Detroit:
Coming: Marvin Bagley III
Going: Josh Jackson, Trey Lyles, second-rounders in 2023 & 2024
Bagley is another of those highly-drafted, not done much so far, types that Pistons general manager Troy Weaver loves to roll the dice on. Last year, he brought in Jackson, a Detroit native, and Dennis Smith Jr., both former high draft picks, to see if they develop.
The second pick in the 2018 draft (Doncic taken third, Young fifth), Bagley had an injury-plagued career in Sacramento. He was this season posting the lowest numbers of his career (9.2 points, 7.3 rebounds).
A 6-foot-11 forward/center, Bagley will get a chance to shine in the Pistons remaining games. He will most likely be rotating with Isaiah Stewart, Kelly Olynyk and Grant at the 4/5 positions.
But do not expect him to ever move into the starting lineup. Bagley will be a restricted free agent this summer. If he starts 18 of the Pistons final 28 games, his qualifying offer sheet would be $14.8 million, but only $7.2 million if he has less than 18 starts. due to the ‘starter criteria’ deciding what amount can be offered.
However, as Rod Beard of the Free Press points out, the cap hold on Bagley would remain $14.8 million, but since Detroit has lots of cap space, it should not pose a problem.
Since Detroit will not be part of the upcoming ‘buyout’ market, this is pretty much your Detroit Pistons for the rest of the year. Seeing how Bagley looks will be one of the bigger storylines.