A New York Knicks trade for Jerami Grant:
This first trade is better than the Los Angeles Lakers’ best offer for multiple reasons. The reason that stands out the most right away is the inclusion of the Charlotte Hornets’ 2022 first-round pick. While the Hornets are no longer the bottom-feeding lottery team that they were for quite some time it still gives the Pistons an instant pick to work with for Grant.
The Pistons are going to value a pick that they can use as soon as possible over a pick that they can use five years in the future even if there is the potential of the Lakers being bad by then. That is going to become a trend with these trades.
The Pistons are also getting a lottery pick from 2020 in Obi Toppin. While Toppin has not burst into the scene yet as a pro he is still someone who has a lot of potential and gives Detroit more assets to build around. As much as we like THT, Toppin’s trade value is higher at this point in time.
Toppin makes more sense for the Pistons’ roster as well. The two sides would be flipping forwards in this trade whereas THT might not work as well with the backcourt in Detroit. Toppin can take most of Grant’s minutes and will finally get a situation in which he will get a chance to show his potential.