UPDATE (01/10/22): It’s been reported as early as Dec. 13th that the Lakers were “pursuing” a trade for the Pistons’ Jerami Grant. It seems like Rob Pelinka and the Lakers are still circling that idea, as The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports that the Wizards, Knicks, Trail Blazers, Lakers, and others are pursuing him.
Several playoff teams are pursuing Pistons star forward Jerami Grant: The Wizards, Knicks, Blazers and Lakers among others, sources said. Grant is sidelined due to a UCL injury in his right thumb but Detroit will have a vast group of suitors for the 27-year-old.
Grant has been out with that UCL injury since Dec. 10th. It was explained that he would be re-evaluated in six weeks, which lines up approximately with January 21st. The NBA trade deadline is on February 10th.
Original story (12/13/21):
All season long, the Los Angeles Lakers have sorely lacked wing punch due to injury. Both LeBron James and Trevor Ariza meet the criteria of being conductors on offense and defense, more importantly. James has been in and out of the lineup, and Ariza is pending his debut in the next week or so. The other factor is that they lack overall depth. It’s no secret that they will likely scour the market for a primary perimeter piece. One of the names that comes up is Jerami Grant of the Detroit Pistons. The Athletic’s Shams Charania had the report on where the Lakers stood in regards to their interest:
Jerami Grant is one of the most sought-after players in a potential trade, with the Lakers and Trail Blazers among the teams pursuing the Pistons’ versatile forward, sources said. Grant will miss extended time with torn ligaments in his right thumb, but that is not expected to impact his trade market.
Well, Grant already fits in with the Lakers because he’s got an injury!
All jokes aside, his offensive talents and measurements would be a huge boost for the team. Grant has been a breakout in the Pistons after steady roles with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets. Grant has averaged 20.1 points and 4.8 assists per game up until he went down this year.
For the Lakers, potential assets in Talen Horton-Tucker and Kendrick Nunn could comprise the package to net Grant. The summer’s trade of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, and Kyle Kuzma drained them of flexible contracts to move. Time will only tell. Nunn becomes trade eligible on December 15th, while THT can’t be moved until January 15th. The Lakers would have to use both of them to secure Grant due to his $20 million per year salary. One of the Lakers under veteran minimum contracts would also have to be added, with a first-round pick far in the future probably needing to be attached to sweeten the deal to the Pistons’ liking.
As with everything in the Lakers’ world… we’ll just have to wait with suspense and see what happens down the road.
