These are the most important games of Jerami Grant’s career

The Detroit Pistons only have 24 games left in the 2021-22 season and they may be the most important of Jerami Grant’s career.

It’s not exaggeration to say that Grant’s future, along with that of the Pistons, will somewhat be determined by what happens in what are ultimately 24 meaningless games in another rebuilding season.

Grant’s future with the team is very much unclear, and if there isn’t evidence it is going to work out, he could be traded in the offseason.

So these last games are not only a tryout for Grant with the Pistons but also for the rest of the league, who will be watching how he adjusts and gauging whether he might be a fit on their roster.

Jerami Grant’s future with the Detroit Pistons

I do think there is a chance that Grant plays well down the stretch, the Pistons win a few games and he shows he can make the necessary adjustments to be more of a secondary option, deferring to Cade Cunningham and Saddiq Bey.

The Pistons will be one of the only teams with real cap space, and if Grant shows himself to be a fit, they could offer him the lucrative extension he wants, somewhere in the range of 4 years/$112 million.

There aren’t a ton of teams that would give him that extension, so he has a lot to gain by showing he can play with the young core.

No good team is going to trade for Grant with the intention of making him the number one option, so he needs to show he can be effective as a second or third piece, and if he does that, more teams will come knocking in the offseason.

This would be better for the Pistons and for Grant, as they could try to orchestrate a trade to a team of his choice, finding the best deal but also doing their best to send him to a good situation.

If Grant struggles to fit in, and the Pistons continue to lack chemistry, they’ll probably have fewer options for trades and Grant is less likely to get his big extension.

Jerami Grant can really help himself by playing well down the stretch, as it will affect the amount of leverage he has in trades and possibly his future contract whether it is with the Detroit Pistons or someone else.