Athletic proposes Cavs trade with Pistons for Jerami Grant

The Athletic proposes Cavs trade for Jerami Grant: Why Pistons would it

The Detroit Pistons are moving into a new phase of their franchise, one that will build its offense entirely around Cade Cunningham as something of a heliocentric scorer. That doesn’t mean they don’t want other creators around him, but clearly, he will be the top dog in the pecking order – and given the early returns, deservedly so.

As they look to add young pieces around Cunningham, veteran forward Jerami Grant is left as the odd man out, the guy supplanted by the young phenom. The Pistons aren’t planning to compete  at the top for a few more years and Grant will be a free agent after next season, so it makes sense for them to entertain trades. Teams from Portland to Phoenix to Philadelphia are options to make trade offers.

The offer from the Cavs proposed by The Athletic would bring Caris LeVert and the No. 14 pick in the draft to Detroit. The Pistons already have the No. 5 pick in the draft, so this would give them two lottery picks to use to add young pieces around Cunningham. Adding, say, Shaedon Sharpe and Mark Williams, or Keegan Murray and TyTy Washington, would give this core two more pieces that fit its timeline.

With LeVert the Pistons would add a secondary creator who can run the offense with Cade off the court, and who works with him when they share the court. Cunningham’s shooting ability would theoretically make him a good off-ball player, although it doesn’t seem likely the Pistons want to dial too much of that up. LeVert clearly has value leaguewide, which is how the Indiana Pacers created a bidding war at the trade deadline that netted a first-round pick and a premium second.