Report: Pistons seeking multiple first-round picks for Grant originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
With just under a month before the NBA trade deadline, the Pistons appear to have one of the deadline's crown jewels in DeMatha alum Jerami Grant.
Per The Athletic's Shams Charania and Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer, the Wizards are one of several teams interested in acquiring Grant before February 15. According to Fischer, the Pistons are looking for a return headlined by either two first-round picks or one first-round pick and a "high-upside young player."
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Is that too high a price for the Wizards? There are several factors at play when talking about trading for a player of Grant's caliber, especially considering he's one of the NBA's most sought-after assets: a two-way wing.
It might not be worth it for the Wizards to trade multiple picks, or one pick and young player they like, for someone who doesn't make them contenders overnight. General manager Tommy Sheppard insisted last week that the Wizards won't mortgage their future in a trade just to go all in on one season.
However, the Wizards appear to have roughly 12 rotation players in a league where playoff rotations usually get cut down to eight or nine players. Depth is great, but there such a thing as too much depth.
Washington has first-round picks to spend. They hold their own pick this season, but owe a lottery-protected first in 2023 to the Thunder via the Russell Westbrook-John Wall swap. If the pick doesn't convey in 2023, it'll roll over to 2024 as a top-12 protected pick. Then it goes to top-10 protected in 2025 and top-8 protected in 2026.
It's important to note that NBA teams aren't allowed to trade consecutive first-round picks, so that limits what the Wizards can do just a little.
Detroit's reported asking price isn't that far off from what we saw the Magic get for Aaron Gordon last season. Like Grant, Gordon presented size on the wing, good defense and a splash of scoring. Gordon was also one year away from free agency when he was traded, and Grant is set to hit the open market in 2023.
The Magic got RJ Hampton, Garry Harris and a protected 2025 first-round pick from Denver for Gordon, which would probably qualify as one of those "first-round pick plus a young player" packages.
Grant isn't locked in to hit free agency, either. He is eligible for a four-year extension worth up to $112 million this offseason, so whoever trades for him will have to account for that as well. Gordon, who was in practically the same contract situation as Grant when he was traded, signed a four-year, $92 million deal with the Nuggets over the summer.
Since joining the Pistons at the beginning of last season, Grant has blossomed into a borderline All-Star. Detroit placed him in a featured role for the first time in his career, and he's responded by averaging 21.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists in his first season-and-a-half as a Piston.
