Trade Notes: Pistons, Jerami Grant, Trail Blazers

Pistons

• For GM Troy Weaver, the idea behind trading Jerami Grant was to clear salary-space, and the Pistons accomplished that in the deal with the Trail Blazers, wrote Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press.
• Grant is being sent into a $21 million trade exception, giving the Pistons $43 million in cap space, per Sankofa. Other than that, the biggest return is the Blazers’ 2025 first-round pick, via the Bucks. That pick is top-four protected, Sankofa added.
• The Pistons will now have the money to be a player in free agency. That means potentially make a run at Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton or Hornets small forward Miles Bridges. They are rumored to be interested in both, Sankofa reported.
• Along with that, the Pistons now can afford to take on additional money in a “salary-dump” trade, in order to get something back they actually want, per Sankofa.

Trail Blazers

• Grant was linked to several teams ahead of the deal, but the Blazers were his preferred destination, per Sankofa. Grant and Damian Lillard were teammates on Team USA in the Olympics.
• Keeping the No. 7 pick out of the deal “was a coup” for Blazers GM Joe Cronin, wrote Aaron Fentress of the Oregonian. As we relayed earlier via Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes, they may not try to use it as bait to land Raptors forward OG Anunoby.
• Grant is set to earn $20.9 million in the final year of his deal, Fentress relayed. He will be eligible for a five-year contract extension for up to $111 million, or become a free agent.
• Mostly, landing Grant solves the Blazers’ power forward issues, Fentress wrote. Grant can also play small forward, and should they land Anunoby, the players would be interchangeable in the frontcourt, per Fentress.
• Grant, 28, is 6-foot-8 and averaged 19.2 points and 4.1 rebounds in 47 games last season. He missed a stretch of the early and middle of the season with a thumb injury.