Detroit Pistons: Is it too early to start thinking about trading Jerami Grant?

The heavily criticized signing of Jerami Grant now looks like a success, what do the Detroit Pistons do now?

It’s fair to say that the Detroit Pistons had a weird 2019-20 offseason. It started off with a three-year, $25 million deal for Mason Plumlee and somewhere along the line saw them add perennial role player Jerami Grant to a three-year, $60 million deal.

Even the most optimistic of Pistons fans must’ve thought “crap, Troy Weaver is trying to act too cool with his first job at the helm of a team.”

Well, we’re about a quarter into the season and Jerami Grant is looking like he’s worth $20 million and in some people’s eyes, is the favorite for this year’s Most Improved Player award.

He’s averaging 23 points per game with 5.5 rebounds and three assists while shooting 38 percent from 3 and 47 percent from inside the arc. All those numbers are serious jumps for him but what’s most impressive is just how better he has gotten in the months between getting eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers in the Conference Finals and the start of this season.

Watch how confident he is in his jump shot this season:

And defenders are realizing that he isn’t just another lanky non-shooter from The Process-era 76ers anymore. With his jump shot faster and a threat, he’s able to get past defenders use his athleticism and size to score around the rim.

Some defenders would be scalded by their coaches a year ago if they defended Grant that high. Now he has to be respected.

It’s worth mentioning as well, the Pistons aren’t a good team, they’re currently in the bottom half of the league in offense and defense according to Cleaning the Glass. It’s impressive that Grant’s remaining somewhat efficient individually while on a bad team.

This isn’t the usual good stats-bad team player you hear of.

So maybe the critics (including myself) should eat a large bowl of crow and admit that the Grant singing wasn’t an overpay.

But what does the growth of Jerami mean for the Pistons as a whole?

Detroit isn’t very good right now and their young talent consists of Killian Hayes, Isaiah Stewart, Sekou Doumbouya, and Saddiq Bey. They do have other promising players under the age of 23, but those are the “blue chippers.”

None of them jump off the page and scream:  “next best player on a playoff team” right now and that’s okay, nobody is really expecting that of them. Hayes is a bit of an enigma because he was expected to have some growing pains as an extremely young point guard (and growing pains is he having!) but you’re not going to find Detroit on a “Best Young Core’s in the NBA Right Now” article, will you?

Maybe after a few more drafts, the team will find a LaMelo Ball, a Luka Doncic, a Ja Morant, and say “hey, this guy’s incredible, now we can make a run.” But that takes time, high draft picks, and lots of development.

Jerami Grant is going to turn 27 in March. By the time Detroit has drafted their future star and is ready to push into the playoff picture, how old is Grant going to be? If the team really wants to collect several exciting draft prospects, maybe it’s a couple of years, then not only is Grant heading towards the wrong side of 30, but he’s also going to be a free agent.

Just after the signing and before the season, Piston’s General Manager Troy Weaver said all the complimentary stuff you’d imagine:

"“Jerami has really worked on his game, become an outstanding 3-point shooter. There’s more there. He’s come here because it’s a big challenge. I’m going to challenge him to be the best he can become. I expect him to continue to grow,” he said.“I don’t campaign for players, but I will say this right now, this guy is worthy of being an all-defensive player. He’s 26 years old, just hitting his prime. We’re excited about everything he brings to the table as a young man and as a player.”"

Weaver has a personal connection to Grant during their time with the OKC Thunder where Troy was in the front office and Grant was on the court for three seasons.

Maybe that makes things difficult, but it might be time to start thinking about selling high on Jerami Grant, looking for a team that needs an upgrade at the forward spots.

There is time though, with three total years on his contract, Weaver can afford to keep saying all the right things and then watch as his friend and colleague bring in some hardware (Most Improved Player) to the city of Detroit.

Conversely, Grant is playing like a $20 million-plus player right now and teams always need defense, shooting, and off-the-dribble skills. More importantly, teams are willing to pay for these players. Is it time to start thinking about parting ways?

In short – probably not. Detroit is already one of the worst teams in basketball even with Jerami Grant. playing as well as he is so they’re going to get a chance at that next young star in the upcoming draft.

As we’ve seen in the past year, the NBA is a seller’s market right now with players going for a premium, maybe even more than they’re worth (Jrue Holiday, Paul George, Chris Paul, and so on). How many first-round picks could the Pistons squeeze out of another team?