The Complicated Case Of Trading For Jerami Grant

Jerami Grant is a man who knows what he wants. In 2020 he left the Denver Nuggets, a rising contender, to go play for one of the league’s worst teams – the Detroit Pistons – for reasons that were important to him.

This included playing for a black head coach and general manager, while also becoming a featured offensive option for the team – a role he had never had in the NBA before.

Now, 14 months into his Pistons tenure, having averaged 21.6 points over 78 games, his name is floating around in trade rumors as he’s often named as a potential final brick to a winning team, that wishes to cash in their chips for a run to the NBA Finals. 

Sticking with his own vision

On the surface, Grant probably should be flattered at the amount of interest from so many teams. Maybe he is. But that hasn’t prevented him from sticking to the belief of who he is as a player, and the role he should be receiving in the future.

According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, Grant has little interest returning to the role of being a bit player offensively, further wishing to play a significant role in any offense. Additionally, Grant is looking for a new contract in the area of $112 million over four years, averaging $28 million per year.

It’s fair to wonder if teams interested in Grant’s services cooled on the idea of trading for him due to that intel, as most winning teams already have players occupying the roles of which he’s seeking.

It’s also fair to wonder if Grant is being realistic in his own evaluation of his capabilities. After all, having now played the role of featured scorer for over a year, the Pistons have continued losing, currently expected to finish second-to-last in the East this season.

That’s not to insinuate that Grant could work miracles on his own. Outside of Grant, Detroit does not have a large group of players ready to be competitive at this point, which surely affects the end result in the win/loss column. Laying Detroit’s issues entirely at Grant’s feet is unfair, but it is reasonable to argue that his impact as a featured player is limited.

Finding common ground 

Interested teams could be in for a mountain of a challenge if they were to get serious about placing a bid for Grant. 

Not only would they have to convince him to take a lesser role to help the overall effectiveness of the team, they’d also have to plan ahead for Grant’s 2023 free agency where he, as mentioned, is seeking a substantial amount of money. Grant is currently earning $20 million a year – the same amount offered to him by the Nuggets in 2020 which he declined – so a raise of $8 million a year will need planning.

More than planning, it will also need to be agreed upon internally from any franchise trading for him that he is worth that kind of money. If a team isn’t willing to agree to his contractual demands, logic dictates he will go elsewhere to seek his fortunes. If that transpires, the trade assets spent on acquiring Grant in the first place would be entirely wasted in the long-term view.

Those are the three major challenges that lie ahead for interested teams. Initial acquisition cost. Role acceptance. Future compensation level.

For the side of Detroit, the ask is likely straightforward. With Cade Cunningham becoming the face of the future, Detroit is likely to ask for draft compensation, young players or both. It makes sense for the Pistons to play hardball here as well, given that they’re aware of Grant’s wishes, which they can fulfill for the time being by giving him carte blanche offensively.

As of right now, Grant hasn’t shown a desire to leave, which gives the Pistons an advantage at the negotiation table. If a team is serious about wanting him, they more than likely will need to pay up.