It’s been over a week now since December 15th has passed, which was the date where most players who were recently signed in the offseason were eligible to be included in trade packages. Many expected NBA trade talks to heat up immediately, but for the most part, things have been relatively quiet so far.
Could the Dallas Mavericks potentially break the silence by trading for Detroit Pistons forward Jerami Grant this season?
When the Pistons signed Grant to a four-year, $80 million deal back in 2020, the hope from both parties was that he would blossom into a true superstar that could lead his team as the top option. The Nuggets reportedly offered Grant the same amount of money to stay in Denver, but he wanted more than what his role was there at the time. And to Grant’s credit, he made the leap from being a 12-points-per-game role player with the Nuggets to being a 22-points-per-game go-to guy with the Pistons this last season and a half.
The problem, though, is that despite Grant’s increase in production, none of it has translated to Detroit winning many games. The Pistons finished the 2020-2021 season as the worst team in the Eastern Conference, and so far during this 2021-2022 season, they remain in that same exact position.
One thing that has changed with Detroit is their long-term (and maybe even short-term) future. Instead of 27-year-old Grant being the focal point of the franchise going forward, that spot has been taken by 20-year-old Cade Cunningham, who was drafted No. 1 overall in the 2021 NBA Draft. Will Grant be content with being moved down a notch on the totem pole while also continuing to rack up losses during the prime of his career? If the answer to that question is ‘no’, then maybe that’s where the Mavs can come into play.
With Detroit already having their superstar of the future and looking like they’re well on their way for a chance at another No. 1 overall pick after this season, maybe the rebuilding Pistons would be content with making a trade that nets them a solid veteran presence, another young prospect and some draft compensation.
Trade Offer No. 1:
Mavs receive: Jerami Grant
Pistons receive: Tim Hardaway Jr., Josh Green and a 2025 first round pick
Given how bad the Pistons have been, despite Grant’s numbers, some might balk at the idea of the Mavs giving up a first round pick when the team’s draft capital is already limited. However, even if Grant doesn’t produce at a superstar-level in Dallas, it would still be an uptick from what the team is currently getting from Hardaway Jr. and Green combined.
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The Mavs do need a true secondary star next to Luka Doncic, and maybe Grant doesn’t quite meet that criteria, but it would at least be a step in the right direction. As much as Dallas loves Hardaway Jr. as a player and as a locker room leader, parting ways with him for Grant would be the right decision, given that both players make nearly the same amount of money per year.
On the Pistons’ side, it was rumored that they had interest in Hardaway Jr. last offseason. Would that still be the case now that Hardaway Jr. has gotten paid and is shooting just 33-percent from deep this season? Perhaps not, but that’s where the promise of Green as a rebuilding 21-year-old prospect and the draft compensation comes into play.
Trade Offer No. 2:
Mavs receive: Jerami Grant
Pistons receive: Reggie Bullock, Maxi Kleber, Josh Green and two future second round picks
This one pretty much has the same logic as the first trade proposal, except you’re swapping out Hardaway Jr.’s salary for Bullock and Kleber’s salaries. Bullock has had a rough go since signing in Dallas, but if anyone could look favorably at him as a trade target right now, it might be the Pistons.
Bullock’s two best three-point shooting seasons of his career came while in Detroit. He shot nearly 42-percent from deep for the Pistons in 2016 and nearly 45-percent from deep in 2018. The first round pick from Dallas is taken away in this scenario being that Kleber serves as a glue-guy for the current roster when healthy (on a much more team-friendly deal as Hardaway Jr. as well), and again, the Mavs would be giving Detroit another young prospect in Green to work with.
Another thing these two trades do for Dallas? It keeps the Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis duo together while adding another high-quality piece next to them. Not that the Pistons would want Porzingis right now even if he was a part of these hypotheticals trades (more on Porzingis’ injury concerns and trade value coming to DallasBasketball.com soon), but the Mavs have made it known publicly that they aren’t looking to part with the ‘Unicorn’ just yet.
The league-wide COVID outbreaks could have something to do with why trade rumors haven’t picked up steam yet, as teams are just doing their best to sign ‘hardship allowance’ players to fill the void in their rosters that the NBA health and safety protocols have created.
However, as we go through the holidays and into the new year, trade talks will inevitably start heating up, as they usually do… and maybe we’ll see the Mavs front office’s urgency level heat up as well.