Don’t be surprised if Jerami Grant’s still a Piston next season
What really can the Detroit Pistons do with Jerami Grant?
The Pistons basically have three options with Jerami Grant:
- Let him play out his contract and take the salary cap savings next year.
- Extend him and make him part of Detroit’s future core,
- Trade him and get some valuable assets in return
In his post-season press conference, general manager Troy Weaver, if you read between the lines, left some valuable clues about Grant’s future with the club.
Before going into detail, two things must be factored in:
- Grant and Weaver are pretty tight. They are both from the Washington D.C. area and were also together with the Thunder. Weaver will put the club’s interest first, but Grant’s feelings will be accounted for.
- Unlike many other standouts, Grant has no desire to leave Detroit. He left a team that just made the Western Conference finals to sign with the Pistons. He would be quite happy, if the price was right, to stay right where he is, so there is no outside pressure on Weaver to deal him.
As for the ‘audition’, Weaver said he wanted to see how Grant fit in with Cunningham as, due to injuries, they never really had played together until the end. Grant was used to launching a shot every time he got the ball, but now he had to play within a structure.
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It turned out, Grant thrived. He actually averaged more points (20.1) then his season average (19.2) in those 15 games with Cunningham. That got Weaver’s attention:
"“Coach (Dwane Casey) and I talked with him about playing a more efficient game, and he did it. To his credit, he really started to play more efficiently, choose his spots,” said Weaver, according to Omari Sankofa II. “Coach had the group sharing the ball, looking for each other. But I was extremely impressed and proud of the way Jerami bounced back after the injury, after All-Star break and the way he was able to find his way back with the group.”"
Weaver says after watching Cunningham and Grant play so well together, he may not be very fired up about getting rid of Grant. After all, fitting in with Cunningham is basically the No. 1 factor in being with the Pistons for the near future.
"“Jerami demonstrated his efficiency in the way he fit with the group,” said Weaver ” I’m curious. I’m not sure (about trading Grant).”"
Of course, Weaver just could have been blowing smoke, hoping to pump up Grant’s trade value, and let other team’s think he is happy to keep him. However, his other comments kind of belie that.
If trying to trade a player, to stir up interest, you talk about how there are a bunch of teams after him. However, Weaver actually did the opposite.