The Detroit Pistons have learned quite well what to do and what not to do when it comes to building a playoff contender in the modern NBA. As they sit back and watch the moves the other teams around the association are making, they recognize that the Portland Trail Blazers are currently making one of the same mistakes they made in the past: Overpaying Jerami Grant.
If we rewind to the 2020 offseason, will remember that that's when the Pistons executed a sign-and-trade with the Denver Nuggets to acquire Jerami Grant. At the time, they Inked him to a 3-year, $60 million contract and got back draft compensation in the deal as well. It was viewed as a pretty solid move at the time.
But Detroit was in the absolute gutter of the NBA at the time. They won just 20 games that following season, and Grant was surprisingly the best player on the roster with no real future stars on the team until the following summer when they would draft Cade Cunningham.
Just like Detroit, Portland overpaid Jerami Grant
This created a weird situation where Grant was the team's most valuable player, but his value was minimized by the fact that he was playing on a monster contract. Of course, eventually, in July of 2022, the Pistons would reach a trade agreement with the Portland Trail Blazers and would send Grant along with draft compensation to the Pacific Northwest in exchange for additional assets.
Apparently, the Trail Blazers didn't learn much from watching how the Pistons handled Grant. In the summer of 2023, Portland resigned Grant to a 5-year $160 million contract. To add insult to injury, the contract was a back loaded one, meaning that it increased in value with each season. This obviously made it a very difficult contract to trade.
Now, the Trail Blazers are stuck with Grant's massive deal on their books. Pistons fans likely feel a little bit of PTSD watching Portland experience the same scenario they did. The Blazers are now stuck with a 31-year-old Jerami Grant who has frankly probably hit his peak as an individual player.
It's a situation where a player is being paid far too much considering the value they're bringing on the court. Pistons fans no far too well how this feels, and now the Trail Blazers find themselves repeating history in far from the best way.