Troy Weaver and the Pistons have a major decision ahead of them after settling for the No. 5 pick in the draft in Tuesday night's lottery. That's what the organization will be focused on over the next month -- not the uncertain future of Jerami Grant.
Asked about the decision to keep Grant or trade him this summer, Weaver said Wednesday on the Stoney & Jansen Show, "I mean, he’s under contract, so it’s not a tough decision."
Grant has been the subject of trade talks for the past several months, not that Weaver necessarily wants to trade him. He rebuffed numerous offers for the Pistons' leading scorer at the deadline back in March, explaining at the time, "Teams just didn't have enough to go get him."
"We weren’t just going to give the guy away," Weaver said. "A 28-year-old versatile wing player in the NBA, on that contract, is hard to find. We weren’t parting with Jerami just to part with him."
Of course, Grant is eligible for a new contract this summer -- a four-year, $112 million extension, to be exact. He's been a relative bargain at $20 million per year the past two seasons. At $28 million per year, he might not be. And that kind of investment in a player nearing 30 doesn't quite mesh with the Pistons' long-term plans. Thus their willingness to field trade offers.
The Trail Blazers were expected to make a push for Grant this summer, but that was before they lost out on a potential lottery pick from the Pelicans when New Orleans made the playoffs. A top-10 pick in next month's draft would have been their primary trade chip. Unless they plan on offering their own lottery pick at No. 7 or 22-year-old shooting guard Anfernee Simons, they probably won't get Weaver's attention.
A lot can change between now and the draft on June 23. Grant's market will likely heat up again after the conclusion of the playoffs. Contenders that fall short might view him as the piece they're missing. Then it's a matter of what they can offer.
"Like I said, we’ll see, but we love having Jerami in a Detroit uniform," Weaver said Wednesday. "He’s been a tremendous player for us and we’d be very comfortable moving forward with him. We’ll vet out everything, see what comes about, but we don’t deem that as a marquee decision right now."
In regard to pending free agent Marvin Bagley III, it sounds like Weaver's decision has already been made. Asked if he intends to bring Bagley back after trading for him at the deadline, Weaver said Wednesday, "Absolutely."
Labelled a bust after after four seasons with the Kings, the former second overall pick thrived in Detroit in a bigger role. He averaged 14.6 points and shot a career high 55.5 percent from the field in 18 games, displaying natural chemistry with point guards Cade Cunningham and Killian Hayes.
Bagley is eligible for a $7.2 million qualifying offer this summer, but the Pistons could just as soon sign him to a longer-term deal. He just turned 23 in March.
"He got an opportunity to showcase himself, but more important he gave us something we didn’t have that was much-needed: a front-court athlete that could rebound and could score at the basket," Weaver said. "That was very noticeable when he joined the ball club. So we’re excited to have the skillset, but the person, he’s a great individual, he fits in the locker room and the guys love having him on the team."
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Other highlights from Weaver's interview on 97.1 The Ticket:
On whether Pistons fans should be disappointed after the lottery: "Not at all. We got the No. 1 pick last year, we fell to No. 5 this year. I love the board, I love the players that we’ll have a chance to select from. So no, Pistons fans shouldn’t be disappointed. Look at last year: (Josh) Giddey was a tremendous player at No. 6, (Jalen) Suggs was a good player at No. 5 and the Rookie of the Year, (Scottie Barnes), was at No. 4. So we like the board and we’ll be ready to go on draft night."
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On his interest in trading the No. 5 pick: "We’ll look at everything. We’ll be aggressive, we’ll try to maximize our opportunities. But we’ll definitely look at everything, for sure -- moving up, moving back, everything."
On whether free agency plans could affect their draft approach: "No, no, we’re going to make the best selection. That won’t prohibit us from what we want to do in free agency. We’ll combine the two, but we’re not going to draft a guy and say, ‘Now we’re not going to do this in free agency.' We’re going to try to add the kind of people that can continue to move us forward. The draft has young players, free agency will have some experience. Coupling those two together, both can help us continue to move the ball downfield."
On the Pistons' biggest need this offseason: "I continue to say we need to add depth. You look around the league and the teams that are still standing can withstand injures, and last year we couldn’t. We had some injures and we fell off and then we picked it back up after the All-Star break because we were healthy. So we want to add depth to this team, quality players, quality individuals. That’s what we’re looking for most."