Dallas Mavericks: Ranking the 10 best potential third options for the Mavs

Dallas Mavericks target, No. 5: Jerami Grant, Detroit Pistons

The Denver Nuggets rough start this season can be blamed on them going deep in the bubble, Jamal Murray’s bad shooting, the teams in the West getting better, Michael Porter Jr. missing games due to the NBA health and safety protocols, but losing Jerami Grant to the Detroit Pistons in free agency isn’t being talked about as much as it should.

Fans love scoring, dunks, 3-point shooting, but coaches and people who’ve played basketball on teams, recreational, or serious scrimmages know the importance of chemistry and a defensive stopper. Not only did the Nuggets lose players who were in their rotation for their deep run into the conference finals in the bubble last season, but they also lost their best defensive player.

At 6-foot-8 Grant can guard 1-4 and in small-ball lineups he can guard a 5. He moves his feet when he’s switched on to smaller players and is a great shot-blocker. Imagine if he did this in a Dallas uniform how much it would help their defense.

On offense, he can do it all, but realistically a trade to the Mavericks would mean he would be asked to hit the open 3-pointer in the corner and catch lob passes as he did for the Nuggets. Like Chandler, he is a player who can impact the game on the defensive end and that’s what the Mavs need.