Detroit Pistons free agency re-grade: Jerami Grant
Initial grade: B-
It wasn’t a unique perspective to think Jerami Grant was in over his head coming to Detroit for an expanded role. He had a nice gig with the Denver Nuggets, playing alongside Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic, and joining the Pistons to play with what’s left of Blake Griffin, Derrick Rose and a bunch of rookies doesn’t offer the same winning potential.
However, Grant knew what he was doing by gambling on himself, and Troy Weaver was absolutely right to buy in. He’s been spectacular on a nightly basis, bumping his usage through the roof and maintaining his high levels of efficiency.
No longer the third wheel on a very good Western Conference team, he gets to be the cornerstone of a rebuild in a once-great basketball city. He’s on the kind of trajectory that makes him a made man in Detroit, a legend. Of course, a lot has to happen before that dream can be realized, including championship contention (and a win or two), but the Nuggets were never going to be his team.
The Detroit Pistons are his team, and he got in on the ground floor. That’s the kind of thing that pays off if things work out, and Jerami Grant deserves all the credit in the world for buying low on this team and betting on himself. It’s a savvy move that has rarely been replicated in NBA history.
Throw that B- grade out, I got this one all wrong and Grant and Weaver got it right.