The Detroit Pistons might end up benefitting from the NBA’s deep pool of postseason contenders this season.
With the advent of the play-in tournament, more teams are in the running for the playoffs, and when combined with a robust Eastern Conference not seen in perhaps a decade or more, there are far more teams believing they are in the playoff hunt.
The Pistons surely are not — they own the NBA’s worst record at 4-22 and have lost 12 straight — but that makes them one of the few sellers on the trade market. The competition might drive up the price for their most attractive potential trade asset in Jerami Grant.
And the NBA trade rumor mill is beginning to heat up.
Grant is “one of the most sought-after players in a potential trade,” with the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers among the teams pursuing him, Shams Charania of The Athletic wrote Monday in his Inside Pass column (subscription required).
“Dozens of teams call the Detroit front office about Grant each week, and sources said the team is open to a possible deal,” Charania wrote.
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Complicating things for now is Grant sprained ligaments in his right thumb Friday diving for a loose ball in New Orleans, and will be reevaluated in six weeks.
That puts him on track for a potential return in late January, ahead of the Feb. 10 trade deadline.
Grant, who turns 28 in March, is in the second year of a three-year deal worth $60 million signed 13 months ago, a stunning move in general manager Troy Weaver’s first offseason. Grant makes $20 million this season and $21 million in the final year of the contract.
The deal was widely questioned at the time, as Grant had been known as complementary player in a 3-and-D role.
But he quickly showed the contract was well worth it, garnering All-Star consideration last season as the Pistons’ No. 1 option. He averaged 22.3 points per game for a team that went 20-52, though his 49.1% effective field goal percentage — a valuable indicator which acknowledges 3s are worth more than 2s for a better shooting composition compared to field goal percentage — ranked well below league average of 53.8%.
Grant’s eFG% this season has dropped to a paltry 46.9% — league average is 52.1% this season as scoring is down across the NBA — and he’s averaging 20.1 points in 24 games. He is for the second straight season attempting more than six free throws per game.
He’s best suited in more of the 3-and-D role he previously played on playoff teams in Denver and Oklahoma City, but has certainly shown he can carry a team offensively on some nights, while continuing to provide versatile defense.
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Grant is eligible for a four-year extension worth up to $112 million after this season, a significant raise that would pay $28 million per season, and Charania wrote interested teams understand Grant will command a salary close to that number. It’s not an outrageous number because the salary cap could spike in future seasons with a new television deal coming in a few years.
This week serves as the unofficial beginning of trade season, with Wednesday opening up far more possibilities because most players signed in the offseason will be eligible to be traded.
And the four-day G League Showcase begins Sunday in Las Vegas, where executives will gather in the NBA’s less formal version of major league baseball’s winter meetings.
So what might Weaver be interested in? Certainly draft capital to help the Pistons in their restoration quest. They don’t own any extra first-round picks, and are limited in flexibility by owing a future first-round pick to Oklahoma City. Because of the protections on the pick, they are unable to trade a first-rounder until the 2022 draft.
The Pistons will be one of the few teams with large cap space in 2022 free agency, so clearing salary is not a priority: Adding talent that complements Cade Cunningham and picks to grease the rebuild should be the goal in any move.
As for the rest of the roster, the Pistons made several signings in free agency, and all will be trade eligible before the deadline. Kelly Olynyk is likely to garner the most interest among the names of veterans Cory Joseph, Josh Jackson, Hamidou Diallo (eligible Jan. 15) and Trey Lyles — the latter three are on expiring contracts, while Olynyk is in Year 1 of a three-year deal and Joseph has a player option for next season. The Pistons have desperately missed Olynyk’s floor-spacing and passing, as he remains out with a knee injury.
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Charania’s column led with the situations surrounding Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons, and touched on other news and notes.
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