The Detroit Pistons have managed to continue gathering value from the trade they made with the Trail Blazers that sent Jerami Grant over to Portland in exchange for picks.
Since then, the Pistons have made a number of moves related to this move that have set them up for current and future success.
The original trade was deemed to be a win-win as it unloaded Grant’s large contract while bringing in picks and the Blazers also got a solid number two option to complement star guard Damian Lillard.
During the 2022 NBA Draft, the Pistons used one of the picks, a 2025 first round pick via Milwaukee, to make a huge trade for Jalen Duren and Kemba Walker with the New York Knicks.
While Walker is likely to be waived or bought out, Duren is going to be huge for the Pistons as he is only 18 years old, built like a tank, and also has a bit of a soft shooting touch as well. Although he rarely stretches outside of the paint, there still seems to be some potential for some spacing from him.
In the following days the Pistons and Knicks seem to have expanded that trade as reported by Adrian Wojnarowski late Tuesday evening.
The Knicks are trading center Nerlens Noel and guard Alec Burks to the Pistons, sources tell ESPN. The Knicks will unload $19M more in salary, clearing the way for cap space to try and sign free agent guard Jalen Brunson.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 29, 2022
The Detroit Pistons now have received Nerlens Noel, Alec Burks, two second-round picks, and $6 million in the Jalen Duren trade.
Not bad value.
They received all of that value, Gabriele Procida and another future second round pick, in exchange for Jerami Grant and a second-round pick. Incredible.
Grant was also on a huge contract as well, so even with the contracts of Noel and Burks coming in, they still gain cap space to go after another player this year, or even save that money for next season with a much better free agency.
Noel and Burks also both have team options next season and Cory Joseph’s contract ends next season allowing them to further grow their ability to sign a huge free agent.
How Troy Weaver managed to gain that much value from a player that did not fit their window of competition is unimaginable.
That is how to win a trade ladies and gentlemen.
Many of the pieces that the Knicks sent to Detroit are players that could play a huge role for the Pistons this season and could mentor players like Saddiq Bey or Jalen Duren in how to play their style of basketball more efficiently.
Even though Jerami Grant meant a lot to the Detroit Pistons in his short stint there, he has continued to contribute to the team by gathering far more value than anybody thought he would be able to garner.