As the deadline approaches, Jerami Grant has been one of the most talked-about names on the trade market, but it doesn't appear like the Lakers will be able to acquire him
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While the Lakers may want to be active in the trade market, there has been a notable lack of publicity surrounding the team and prospective transactions. While they’ve been connected to a number of prospective trade targets, none of the stories have suggested serious talks, instead of describing the Lakers’ effort as “due diligence.”
The lack of interest in what the Lakers have to offer is part of the reason behind this. An ineffective third-year guard who just got paid (Talen Horton-Tucker), a guard who hasn’t played a game this season (Kendrick Nunn), and a distant first-round draught pick are the team’s three most moveable assets (2027).
However, that is just half of the picture. The Pistons’ lack of interest in Horton-Tucker, while being a rebuilding team, is revealing. His disappointing season has put the Lakers in a difficult position, both on and off the court, in terms of output and trade talks.
As a result, Grant — and other players of similar worth on the market — are unlikely to be available for the Lakers this season, limiting the team’s ability to shake things up. So, while Grant appears to be a perfect fit for the Lakers on paper, it appears doubtful that the forward will be traded in the near weeks.
In actuality, a variety of factors have prevented the Lakers and Pistons from reaching an agreement.
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On the latest episode of “The NBA Chats,” Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report told presenter Alen Ramic that the Lakers and Pistons seem to have shifted on from trade negotiations for a multitude of reasons:
“I’ve heard mixed things on the Lakers even (pursuing him). It’s one of those things where sometimes a team will try, and then get rebuffed, and then put it out there that they don’t like the player and they don’t want to player. I don’t know if that’s the case (here), but I have actually heard that the Lakers have kind of passed on Grant. That he doesn’t want to play secondary or tertiary role to LeBron and AD, that they’re gonna have to invest big money in him. He’s gonna be close to 30, he’s gonna finish that next contract at 32 or 33, in that range, and if you’re paying him $30 million towards the end of that, that’s a lot to take on if you’re going to keep paying AD and LeBron.
“I would argue that OK, if he’s the perfect fit and you can get to that, and if you can work around and find a way to get him to buy into that role of being a primary scorer on the second unit, he’s still going to have a huge offensive role on the first unit, maybe there’s a way of making it happen. But I don’t think that Detroit values THT the way that the Lakers need for that to happen. You’d have to do a multi-team trade to get Detroit something that is that value, and I don’t know that it’s possible.”
