The Detroit Pistons currently have the worst record in the NBA, and while they have some excuses in terms of injuries, schedule and youth, it’s clear they still need more talent.
This is especially true on the wing, where their two primary forwards (Bojan Bogdanovic and Saddiq Bey) are among the league’s worst defenders at their position.
It hasn’t helped that the Pistons have had to watch some former players thrive on different teams, guys who would definitely fit the mold of what they currently need.
One such player is Jerami Grant, who was traded away last July in a move that eventually landed the Pistons Jalen Duren in the draft.
It was a mutually beneficial trade and I gave high grades to both teams, as the Trail Blazers got a guy to help them compete right now and the Detroit Pistons got their center of the future in Duren.
Grant will be an unrestricted free agent after this season, so is a guy the Pistons could pursue in free agency. But should they?
Detroit Pistons: Jerami Grant and the free-agent market
Grant is having another fantastic season for the Portland Trail Blazers, putting up the best shooting numbers of his career playing off Damian Lillard.
He’s probably going to get a substantial raise on his next contract, as he has proven he can be the third-best player on a playoff team, a wing defender who can shoot, which every team can use.
The Pistons will have the cap space to sign him, and the truth is that he might be the best available free agent when the market shakes out. This means they’d have to splash out big bucks to bring Jerami Grant back to Detroit.
But given the lack of quality depth in the free-agent class, he might be their best option, as he is really one of the only players in the 2023 free agent group that suits their current roster need for a wing who can defend.
So let’s look at some of the reasons the Detroit Pistons would and wouldn’t pursue Jerami Grant in free agency.
The Detroit Pistons should pursue Jerami Grant in free agency
I had no problem with the Pistons trading Jerami Grant, as they weren’t going anywhere with him and at times his usage was taking away from some of the young players. He was on the final year of his deal anyway, so the Pistons did well to walk away with Jalen Duren in exchange.
But Grant has evolved as a player, which is something we started to see last season when he began to defer more to Cade Cunningham as the primary playmaker. He’s done it even more this season with Portland, as he is shooting over 44 percent from 3-point range on the second-most attempts per game of his career.
Almost all of his 3-point shots are of the catch-and-shoot variety and he is shooting an effective field goal percentage of 63 percent on catch-and-shoot shots this season. He is officially a 3-and-D wing, which is exactly what the Detroit Pistons need.
Grant is not dribbling as much, is taking more efficient shots and is at the stage of his career where he clearly knows his role.
Grant is a quality wing defender (the Pistons’ biggest need) and is a guy who genuinely seemed to like Detroit and had a close relationship with Troy Weaver. Adding him would move Bogdanovic to the four and Bey to the bench permanently, giving the Pistons a player who can make up for some of the defensive deficiencies of both of them.
Although he’s not a lockdown one-on-one defender, his loss clearly hurt the overall team defense, as they are six points worse than last season and on pace to have the worst defense in team history.
There is a lot to like about a reunion with Jerami Grant, but there are also reasons the Detroit Pistons should go in another direction.
The Detroit Pistons should not pursue Jerami Grant in free agency
Even though a reunion with Grant might sound good on paper, there are some reasons the Detroit Pistons should look elsewhere.
Grant is about to get a raise, possibly a max contract, and he is 28-years-old, so even though he’s still in his prime, the Pistons would be stuck paying a premium for the final years of it.
Let’s also not forget that the Pistons stunk with Grant and basically have the same team, so there is little evidence that he is the guy to help drag them out of the cellar. Yes, he is playing a different role in Portland, but the Pistons don’t have a Damian Lillard, so would Grant really be comfortable taking a back seat to younger players who aren’t as good as he is?
We saw last night that Grant can still carry a team offensively, as he dropped 36 on the Pistons, so it likely wouldn’t be long before he was the focal point of the offense again and I am not sure that is something Detroit should be interested in.
The Pistons need help at small forward and already have two tweeners in Bogs and Bey who can’t really defend quicker wings. At this point in his career, Grant is better suited to play the four, although you could argue that defensive versatility from the forwards is more important than a position and Grant has shown he is versatile.
He’s not a perfect fit defensively, and if the Pistons are going to spend most of their cap space on one guy, they need him to be the right fit. They have enough power forwards already and need more of a quicker wing who can defend all over the perimeter.
I think Jerami Grant is an interesting case, as he is a very good role player who theoretically fills some needs and was a great teammate in Detroit, but his future salary and some of the questions about fit may be enough to make Detroit look elsewhere.