Wizards Rumors: Team Pursuing Jerami Grant
The Washington Wizards have shown interest in trading for Detroit Pistons forward Jerami Grant, according to reports. The Athletic‘s Shams Charania reported on the Wizards interest, alongside a handful of other teams.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Wizards are interested in acquiring the 27-year-old forward. His addition to the current core would move the team up a few ranks in the competitive Eastern Conference.
Although Grant is currently sidelined with a thumb injury, he remains one of the hottest names on the NBA trade market. He’s a very good two-way player that is drawing interest from teams like the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trailblazers, in addition to the Wizards.
After this season, Grant has one year left on his current contract. That’s an added bonus for Washington, as the commitment to him isn’t long-term yet. The team would maintain a lot of their financial flexibility moving forward.
Assets such as Deni Avdija, Corey Kispert or Isaiah Todd could be used in a package to acquire Grant. The Wizards are limited in the draft capital they can send out right now, so giving up some young players they are high on might be necessary. Regardless, any deal would likely be a multi-team trade.
If the price is right, the Wizards should pull the trigger on a deal for Jerami Grant. It would be beneficial both short-term and long-term to the franchise.
Jerami Grant Would Instantly Make the Wizards Better
Grant would improve this team instantly in a number of ways. Not only is he a good defender, he also has shown he can be a 20 point per game scorer over the last two seasons. Before his injury this year, Grant was averaging 20.1 points per game.
In the playoffs, the Wizards need as many options to defend scoring wings as possible. Grant offers the ability to defend players like Kevin Durant while also being able to ease some of the offensive workloads on Bradley Beal.
He would join the emerging Kyle Kuzma on the wing to give Wes Unseld Jr. all sorts of lineup options. While Grant is shooting just 33.1 percent from behind the arc this season, he has a track record of being a better shooter than that. It’s reasonable to expect that number to increase if he were playing alongside the Wizards offensive talent as opposed to the Pistons current roster.
Any deal for the two-way wing will not be cheap. He very well could be the best player traded ahead of this year’s trade deadline. The Wizards have assets, though, and Grant could help them make a lot more noise in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Expect to hear more on these rumors as the deadline gets closer and closer. At the very least, the Wizards appear to be active on the trade market.