Jerami Grant is the perfect match for the Boston Celtics. He’s a long, two-way scorer who is in the midst of his best professional season, so it should not come as a surprise that Boston is interested in the 26-year-old.
Grant is among the Celtics’ top trade targets ahead of the trade deadline, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. Danny Ainge should be interested in Grant, as he fits exactly what the Celtics need, but that doesn’t mean Detroit is looking to move its star player. Through 33 games, Grant is averaging 23.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists on 43.3% shooting, so it’s safe to say the Pistons are happy with the production from their new acquisition.
Grant signed a three-year deal with the Pistons this offseason for roughly $60 million. He chose Detroit, a team currently in rebuilding mode, over Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets. He accepted a bigger role with an organization he believed in — a team with Dwane Casey, one of the NBA’s seven Black head coaches, and Troy Weaver, one of the league’s 10 Black general managers. He spoke with The Athletic’s James Edwards in January about the importance of the latter, making it clear that Detroit is where he wants to be. The feeling certainly is mutual — there is no feasible reason for the Pistons to part ways with their franchise cornerstone less than one year into his contract.
This isn’t to deny Charania’s report by any means. Ainge and the Celtics front office, like any organization, will do their due diligence on any potential target, no matter how realistic. That’s simply the way things work. Unfortunately for Boston, he’s likely off the table in any trade talks with the Pistons. That’s also a good thing for Grant, who probably would not be thrilled playing for Boston after choosing Detroit for the aforementioned reasons.
The Celtics have the $28.5 million trade exception in their arsenal with less than one month to go before the trade deadline, so expressing interest in Grant is a no-brainer with Detroit sitting in last place in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons will be sellers at the deadline, just don’t count on Grant going anywhere.
Charania also reported that Boston is interested in Orlando Magic big man Nikola Vucevic. He is mid-way through an All-Star campaign, meaning the asking price will be extremely high for potential partners calling the Orlando front office. Although he’s going through a career season, Vucevic should be more available on the trade market than Grant. At 30, the Swiss center doesn’t match the timeline of the Magic’s young players, similar to Evan Fournier. After having its roster decimated by injuries, Orlando undoubtedly will enter trade season as sellers, but finding the right package for the All-Star big man could be difficult.
Boston’s interest in Vucevic seems perpetual at this point, but acquiring him now would require the Celtics to send out salary in the deal to remain under the hard cap. In addition to the salary cap hoops to jump through, I’m not sure Vucevic is the right match for Boston. He is a terrific player — there is no doubting that. But the Celtics have three centers at the moment and a severe lack of wing depth. Yes, Boston would have to include at least one of its bigs in a trade package to Orlando, but how much does that move the needle?
Vucevic is a terrific offensive player and would add a great perimeter dynamic to the Celtics’ frontcourt with his improved 3-point shooting. He would be the ideal stretch big to take some of the heat off of Boston’s main contributors. That being said, he doesn’t bring all that much defensive versatility, something Boston desperately needs across the board. Paying a massive price for Vucevic would make more sense if the Celtics had a big need at the center position, but they don’t. More importantly, paying that price is something Boston likely isn’t willing to do.
So here’s the bottom line: Jerami Grant and Nikola Vucevic are intriguing options for the Celtics as they search for potential additions ahead of the trade deadline, and it makes sense that Ainge and Co. have expressed interest in both players. With all of that in mind, it is rather unlikely that either ends up in Boston come late March. Grant is not going anywhere, and the asking price for Vucevic will be out of the Celtics’ range.
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March 05, 2021 at 06:30PM
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Jerami Grant, Nikola Vucevic Tied To Boston Celtics As Trade Targets - Forbes
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