Jerami Grant had spent two productive seasons with the Detroit Pistons when the franchise opted to trade him to the Portland Trail Blazers. It was a bold move by Detroit as they opted to prioritize the future with a draft-heavy return.
Four years later, the Grant trade is the gift that keeps on giving as the Pistons landed yet another intriguing piece of their puzzle with a pick they acquired for him: Ebuka Okorie.
Detroit traded Grant for a protected 2025 first-round draft pick and second-round selections in 2022, 2025, and 2026. They first selected Gabriele Procida in 2022 and then traded their 2025 first-round pick in 2022 for Kemba Walker and the draft rights for Jalen Duren—now an All-NBA player.
The latest result of the Grant trade was Detroit including the 2026 second-round pick they acquired in the deal to move up and select Okorie.
2026 Ebuka Okorie pic.twitter.com/1Qh02BYqfP
— Pitless (@pitlessball) April 9, 2026
As if landing Duren weren't appealing enough, the Pistons have now added Okorie at a time when maneuverability has otherwise been greatly limited. They've done what they can, acquiring Isaiah Joe and Taurean Prince via trade, and John Collins via sign-and-trade.
With Duren still holding out for a new contract under terms he finds preferable, however, the Pistons have struggled to find shot creation. Thankfully, Okorie has addressed a massive need at guard.
As Pistons wait on Jalen Duren, Jerami Grant traded yielded affordable shot creation depth
Detroit already has financial limitations with Cade Cunningham making upward of $50 million in each of the next four seasons. 2025-26 Defensive Player of the Year finalist Ausar Thompson will also be a restricted free agent next summer and could receive a hefty pay increase from the $11,117,925 he'll make in 2026-27.
Throw in the belief that Duren's new salary will exceed $30 million per season, and Detroit needs all of the cost-efficient talent it can find.
Thankfully, the Grant trade bought the Pistons the opportunity to trade up in the first round in 2026 and add Okorie. Not only does he represent an opportunity to develop a promising talent on a four-year rookie-scale deal, but he offers potential depth in an area of weakness.
Okorie is a dynamic scoring guard who can get buckets at all three levels, which should help a Pistons team that had no guard other than Cunningham score even 10.0 points per game in 2025-26.
Even with the contract drama, Jalen Duren is still a franchise cornerstone
It's certainly possible that Okorie will struggle to excel in the NBA. It's just as plausible that the Duren saga will continue until he accepts his qualifying offer and returns to the Pistons for just one season before entering unrestricted free agency in 2027.
The reality remains, however, that the Grant trade looks better now than ever before due to the opportunities it's afforded Detroit in the present and the future.
In the present, the Pistons have ended a five-year postseason drought and won their first playoff series in 18 seasons. Duren played a pivotal role in that success as Cunningham's co-star. As for the future, Okorie is a 19-year-old shot creator who represents the type of depth the team desperately needed at guard—especially with Daniss Jenkins entering the final season of his current deal.
It's a turbulent time in Detroit with Duren's future in question, but the Grant trade has not only allowed the team to escape the depths of despair, but improve its long-term outlook with Okorie.
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