2021-22 Season Discussion and Speculation

[NapoleonII]

The West is still stacked, GSW included.

I'm not really afraid of Curry in the playoffs - their system of 'chaos and free flowing movement' we disrupt really well with Bridges, Ayton and a locked-in Chris Paul and Booker. We're younger, potentially hungrier, and hopefully CP3's body holds up.

But to say they're pretenders is ridiculous. Monty and the staff aren't thinking this way. Klay, even at 80% of himself, will sink daggers in the playoffs against anyone. Green, when he needs to be, is a top 5 defender ever. Poole lit us up last game.


"Don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion." - some guy who knows a thing or two.

[Ghost of Kleine]

What would you guys think about buying low on Grant? He's injured now but we wouldn't need him yet. We let him sit till the ASB and boom we have an awesome PF that can be huge for the playoffs. DET was already doing the tank but now they are full steam ahead, we could get him for a lot less than last year.

Grant would be fantastic for us! And he's my number one target in 2023 free agency when both Saric and Crowder come off the books. Christian Wood being my 2nd. 3rd would be Gallinari ( but only on a cheap shorter deal) else just resign Crowder for cheaper too. I don't see us being able to trade for Grant though as Troy Weaver seems to love him. Also we just don't have any good trade assets for key additions currently.

This is an example of why I kept suggesting that we acquire draft assets with high upside to develop even into the 2nd round. Also why it was stupid to dump our G League for Robert "Cash considerations" profit margin. You should also always be on the lookout for roster improvements and premium assets that are being undervalued and become available that you can acquire and restore their value to be flipped. But as long as we're legitimately contending, we're good. We just need to put more emphasis back into the draft and proper development for talent sustainability and asset acquisition!

With our current craptastic assets though and a stingy, miserly owner, The best we can hope for is fringe upgrades. We'll know in the next couple weeks if our front office is capable of pulling off something truly noteworthy.

[Ghost of Kleine]

What would you guys think about buying low on Grant? He's injured now but we wouldn't need him yet. We let him sit till the ASB and boom we have an awesome PF that can be huge for the playoffs. DET was already doing the tank but now they are full steam ahead, we could get him for a lot less than last year.

We don't really have the pieces to outbid a halfway decent offer.
Our offer would have to look like, salary, young guys, draft picks.
1. Salary: either Crowder or Saric. If we are lucky Detroit prefers Saric as he is not playing this year and they are tanking. Next year he is an expiring which could be flipped.
2. Young guy(s): Jalen Smith for sure for salary purposes as well, and them trying out a recent lottery pick. After this we might have to add CamJo. He would be the young player who makes it worthwile for Detroit, and also his salary is also needed as Grant makes 20 mill. Other than him we can only offer Hutchinson - but let's take ourselves a bit more serious than this. We are not Lakers fans...
3. Draftpicks - we don't really have anything good to offer, unless Detroit is crazy about something like a 2027 unprotected first pick and hopes we fall off until then. All of our picks will be late(ish) in the first or the second round until then unless we get terrible injury luck in the coming years.

Not sure why anybody wouldn't have a better offer than that. Not sure why Detroit would do this. I wouldn't if I were them.

*edit: I was bored and played around with the trade machine... One trade that is more realistic for both teams value-wise, but I still wouldn't do becouse of chemistry issues is:

Grant+Corey Joseph for Crowder+Payne+Hutch. Works in the trade machine. We get a better starting PF, and an adequate bench PG. They get some adults in the room, who are actually good vets, on good contracts which expire in time for them to expand their young guys and/or sign somebody meaningful for their young core in 2 years... and they could show the young guys the ropes, while they bottom out this year and next, so a full tanking move for Detroit.

But I think this messes up our team chemistry in the short term, so even this is a no go for me. I like Payne better than this.

I think the key to beating other investors would be that we're trading for him now.... when he's injured. The fact that he's unusable till February is going to scare some teams off. We do it now and can get in before them.

We should definitely look into it! It would be a coup for us. Although with as much as there GM adores him back from his OKC days it would likely take a package of Smith/ EITHER Shamet or Johnson/ and a first. I'd love to have him, and love the idea!! For now though with our available pieces, Wood is probably a more realistic get with what we'd be willing to give up. I'll post something on the trade board to gauge percieved value though?
( I'd personally be willing to surrender one of Shamet or Johnson in the deal) as I see Grant as being a much better defender against a Giannis/ George/ Davis than Cam currently. Although I do really like Johnson regardless. His upcoming 2023 free agency contract status would be a point of emphasis for me in a trade as well.

[Blonde]

I just don’t see there being a massive bidding war for Jerami Grant. Most playoff teams who would be interested either have no draft picks to trade, or already have an established PF better than Grant. I would assume Chicago, Phoenix, Utah, and possibly Atlanta would be on the short list of interested teams. Salaries work with Saric/Smith/Hutchison going out. We can offer any any future first after this year. I could probably part with CamJ if the rest of the deal makes sense. Nobody is going to blow Detroit away for a player of Grant’s caliber but Phoenix should be willing to spend the most if we think he’s the missing piece for a championship.

[Blonde]

We don't really have the pieces to outbid a halfway decent offer.
Our offer would have to look like, salary, young guys, draft picks.
1. Salary: either Crowder or Saric. If we are lucky Detroit prefers Saric as he is not playing this year and they are tanking. Next year he is an expiring which could be flipped.
2. Young guy(s): Jalen Smith for sure for salary purposes as well, and them trying out a recent lottery pick. After this we might have to add CamJo. He would be the young player who makes it worthwile for Detroit, and also his salary is also needed as Grant makes 20 mill. Other than him we can only offer Hutchinson - but let's take ourselves a bit more serious than this. We are not Lakers fans...
3. Draftpicks - we don't really have anything good to offer, unless Detroit is crazy about something like a 2027 unprotected first pick and hopes we fall off until then. All of our picks will be late(ish) in the first or the second round until then unless we get terrible injury luck in the coming years.

Not sure why anybody wouldn't have a better offer than that. Not sure why Detroit would do this. I wouldn't if I were them.

*edit: I was bored and played around with the trade machine... One trade that is more realistic for both teams value-wise, but I still wouldn't do becouse of chemistry issues is:

Grant+Corey Joseph for Crowder+Payne+Hutch. Works in the trade machine. We get a better starting PF, and an adequate bench PG. They get some adults in the room, who are actually good vets, on good contracts which expire in time for them to expand their young guys and/or sign somebody meaningful for their young core in 2 years... and they could show the young guys the ropes, while they bottom out this year and next, so a full tanking move for Detroit.

But I think this messes up our team chemistry in the short term, so even this is a no go for me. I like Payne better than this.

I think the key to beating other investors would be that we're trading for him now.... when he's injured. The fact that he's unusable till February is going to scare some teams off. We do it now and can get in before them.

We should definitely look into it! It would be a coup for us. Although with as much as there GM adores him back from his OKC days it would likely take a package of Smith/ EITHER Shamet or Johnson/ and a first. I'd love to have him, and love the idea!! For now though with our available pieces, Wood is probably a more realistic get with what we'd be willing to give up. I'll post something on the trade board to gauge percieved value though?
( I'd personally be willing to surrender one of Shamet or Johnson in the deal) as I see Grant as being a much better defender against a Giannis/ George/ Davis than Cam currently. Although I do really like Johnson regardless. His upcoming 2023 free agency contract status would be a point of emphasis for me in a trade as well.

Wood needs to be playing at center. His value drops off a cliff when he’s at PF. I don’t think he fits this team, though he is immensely talented and reportedly available.

[bwgood77]

StatMuse (@statmuse) Tweeted:
Four of the 10 worst shooting performances by Steph Curry in his career have come this season (min 20 FGA):

4-21 (19.0%) vs Suns in November
5-21 (23.8%) vs Lakers in October
7-28 (25.0%) vs Spurs in December
6-20 (30.0%) vs 76ers tonight https://t.co/7P3xzGBQ1l

Read on Twitter

?s=20

I kind of hate stats like this that are cherry picked and lack context and will be misleading. Sidery and many others often do it as well.

The reason for this is because Steph Curry's 3pt volume is at an all time high. He shoots 13.4 3s a game, the highest in his career, much higher than avg....he was somewhat close last year but he also had more total FGA last year so as a % of shots, this is even higher, like over 65% of his attempts.

When you shoot that many of your attempts from 3, your FG% by nature will usually be worse overall and you will tend to have worse shooting nights on occasion.

[bwgood77]

GSW are 3-3 in their past 6 games, wonder if it's a blip or a reversion?

Hoping Cam Payne can find some form soon too.

I have said it a few times already, IMO the Warriors are not true contenders. Teams weren't aware of Poole and he is much more in the scouting's report for the last couple of weeks.

Lakers can go Top #3, a lot of games left yet.

How are they not a true contender? They are missing 3 or 4 players, one being their 2nd or 3rd best players who is a 5x all star, 2x All NBA and one tie All defensive and one of the best shooters of all time?

We went on a 1-3 stretch getting crushed by Portland, Sac and losing by Denver by double digits.

Even with GS's recent stretch they are 21-5, over 4x the wins than losses, so about a 66-16 win pace and outscoring their opponents by over 12 pts a game.

We are a half game ahead outscoring opponents by 7ppg, a little more than half.

Not calling them a contender also diminshes what we have done. Is anyone in the west?

Fans could claim we are not either (though most fans say we are) but we have squeezed by several teams missing their stars.

[bwgood77]

GSW are 3-3 in their past 6 games, wonder if it's a blip or a reversion?

Hoping Cam Payne can find some form soon too.

I have said it a few times already, IMO the Warriors are not true contenders. Teams weren't aware of Poole and he is much more in the scouting's report for the last couple of weeks.

Lakers can go Top #3, a lot of games left yet.

How are they not a true contender? They are missing 3 or 4 players, one being their 2nd or 3rd best players who is a 5x all star, 2x All NBA and one tie All defensive and one of the best shooters of all time?

We went on a 1-3 stretch getting crushed by Portland, Sac and losing by Denver by double digits.

Even with GS's recent stretch they are 21-5, over 4x the wins than losses, so about a 66-16 win pace and outscoring their opponents by over 12 pts a game.

We are a half game ahead outscoring opponents by 7ppg, a little more than half.

Not calling them a contender also diminshes what we have done. Is anyone in the west?

Fans could claim we are not either (though most fans say we are) but we have squeezed by several teams missing their stars.

They also have their main 3 man core of the 73 win team with more depth and are on their highest win pace maybe in all their seasons at this point.

[bwgood77]

I just don’t see there being a massive bidding war for Jerami Grant. Most playoff teams who would be interested either have no draft picks to trade, or already have an established PF better than Grant. I would assume Chicago, Phoenix, Utah, and possibly Atlanta would be on the short list of interested teams. Salaries work with Saric/Smith/Hutchison going out. We can offer any any future first after this year. I could probably part with CamJ if the rest of the deal makes sense. Nobody is going to blow Detroit away for a player of Grant’s caliber but Phoenix should be willing to spend the most if we think he’s the missing piece for a championship.

There are a bunch of speculative offers for Grant better than ours including Philly for Simmons (unlikely), Charlotte, Sacramento, NO, Warriors, Hawks and Mavs.

Most all of these have either great young prospects like Okongwu and Reddish, Wiseman or better firsts than what ours would likely be. I think they would have no interest than any players you propose (AT ALL) except Cam Johnson which I wouldn't do.

[Blonde]

I just don’t see there being a massive bidding war for Jerami Grant. Most playoff teams who would be interested either have no draft picks to trade, or already have an established PF better than Grant. I would assume Chicago, Phoenix, Utah, and possibly Atlanta would be on the short list of interested teams. Salaries work with Saric/Smith/Hutchison going out. We can offer any any future first after this year. I could probably part with CamJ if the rest of the deal makes sense. Nobody is going to blow Detroit away for a player of Grant’s caliber but Phoenix should be willing to spend the most if we think he’s the missing piece for a championship.

There are a bunch of speculative offers for Grant better than ours including Philly for Simmons (unlikely), Charlotte, Sacramento, NO, Warriors, Hawks and Mavs.

Most all of these have either great young prospects like Okongwu and Reddish, Wiseman or better firsts than what ours would likely be. I think they would have no interest than any players you propose (AT ALL) except Cam Johnson which I wouldn't do.

Of course nobody has interest in Saric/Smith/Hutchison lmao I’m not clueless… it’s just salary. CamJ is about as good of a young player as they will get for Grant though. He’s at least as valuable as Reddish or Okongwu. NO has Zion and Ingram, I don’t see how Grant is someone they’d target. Mavs have Porzingis but if they decide to play him at C it’s not like they have some warchest of assets better than us. Charlotte has Bridges/Hayward who are both better than Grant. GSW could have him if they wanted, true, but they won’t trade Wiseman for him and they should be targeting a center. This isn’t some star player we’re taking about here it’s Jerami Grant.

[bwgood77]

I just don’t see there being a massive bidding war for Jerami Grant. Most playoff teams who would be interested either have no draft picks to trade, or already have an established PF better than Grant. I would assume Chicago, Phoenix, Utah, and possibly Atlanta would be on the short list of interested teams. Salaries work with Saric/Smith/Hutchison going out. We can offer any any future first after this year. I could probably part with CamJ if the rest of the deal makes sense. Nobody is going to blow Detroit away for a player of Grant’s caliber but Phoenix should be willing to spend the most if we think he’s the missing piece for a championship.

There are a bunch of speculative offers for Grant better than ours including Philly for Simmons (unlikely), Charlotte, Sacramento, NO, Warriors, Hawks and Mavs.

Most all of these have either great young prospects like Okongwu and Reddish, Wiseman or better firsts than what ours would likely be. I think they would have no interest than any players you propose (AT ALL) except Cam Johnson which I wouldn't do.

Of course nobody has interest in Saric/Smith/Hutchison lmao I’m not clueless… it’s just salary. CamJ is about as good of a young player as they will get for Grant though. He’s at least as valuable as Reddish or Okongwu. NO has Zion and Ingram, I don’t see how Grant is someone they’d target. Mavs have Porzingis but if they decide to play him at C it’s not like they have some warchest of assets better than us. Charlotte has Bridges/Hayward who are both better than Grant. GSW could have him if they wanted, true, but they won’t trade Wiseman for him and they should be targeting a center. This isn’t some star player we’re taking about here it’s Jerami Grant.

I think the main thing with some of those teams, particularly the Pelicans, would be offering picks, which would be a lot better and likely sooner than ours.

[Saberestar]

GSW are 3-3 in their past 6 games, wonder if it's a blip or a reversion?

Hoping Cam Payne can find some form soon too.

I have said it a few times already, IMO the Warriors are not true contenders. Teams weren't aware of Poole and he is much more in the scouting's report for the last couple of weeks.

Lakers can go Top #3, a lot of games left yet.

How are they not a true contender? They are missing 3 or 4 players, one being their 2nd or 3rd best players who is a 5x all star, 2x All NBA and one tie All defensive and one of the best shooters of all time?

We went on a 1-3 stretch getting crushed by Portland, Sac and losing by Denver by double digits.

Even with GS's recent stretch they are 21-5, over 4x the wins than losses, so about a 66-16 win pace and outscoring their opponents by over 12 pts a game.

We are a half game ahead outscoring opponents by 7ppg, a little more than half.

Not calling them a contender also diminshes what we have done. Is anyone in the west?

Fans could claim we are not either (though most fans say we are) but we have squeezed by several teams missing their stars.

They also have their main 3 man core of the 73 win team with more depth and are on their highest win pace maybe in all their seasons at this point.

They have changed some bench players but they are basically the same team that couldn't make the playoffs last season.

They are better than last year but not by a wide margin. They have had an easy schedule in the first quarter of the season so I expect them to get a worse winning percentage in the next few months.

It is sad but Klay Thompson will never be the same player that he was, probably not even close. Two devastating injuries. He has not played in two and a half years, most of that time without even soft basketball training. Hopefully I am wrong and he is back strong but at his age I don't expect it.

I don't think that the Jazz are true contenders neither, so it is not only about the Warriors.

IMO the contenders are Bucks, Suns, Nets and Lakers. Bucks and Suns over Nets and Lakers.

[bwgood77]

I have said it a few times already, IMO the Warriors are not true contenders. Teams weren't aware of Poole and he is much more in the scouting's report for the last couple of weeks.

Lakers can go Top #3, a lot of games left yet.

How are they not a true contender? They are missing 3 or 4 players, one being their 2nd or 3rd best players who is a 5x all star, 2x All NBA and one tie All defensive and one of the best shooters of all time?

We went on a 1-3 stretch getting crushed by Portland, Sac and losing by Denver by double digits.

Even with GS's recent stretch they are 21-5, over 4x the wins than losses, so about a 66-16 win pace and outscoring their opponents by over 12 pts a game.

We are a half game ahead outscoring opponents by 7ppg, a little more than half.

Not calling them a contender also diminshes what we have done. Is anyone in the west?

Fans could claim we are not either (though most fans say we are) but we have squeezed by several teams missing their stars.

They also have their main 3 man core of the 73 win team with more depth and are on their highest win pace maybe in all their seasons at this point.

They have changed some bench players but they are basically the same team that couldn't make the playoffs last season.

They are better than last year but not by a wide margin. They have had an easy schedule in the first quarter of the season so I expect them to get a worse winning percentage in the next few months.

It is sad but Klay Thompson will never be the same player that he was, probably not even close. Two devastating injuries. He has not played in two and a half years, most of that time without even soft basketball training. Hopefully I am wrong and he is back strong but at his age I don't expect it.

I don't think that the Jazz are true contenders neither, so it is not only about the Warriors.

IMO the contenders are Bucks, Suns, Nets and Lakers. Bucks and Suns over Nets and Lakers.

Yeah, but Curry, Green and Wiggins all missed around 10 games, Oubre was absolutely terrible, and Wiggins has improved massively as well as Poole. Then they added Otto Porter who has been solid and Iguodala. They are on a 66 win pace without Klay and a C who probably has improved quite a bit in his 2nd year as Ayton did.

I figured they'd finish top 3 or 4, but expected Klay to be better. I didn't even know much about Poole and he's been great, a lot better than someone like Payne. He's scoring over 18 a game. When he moves to 6th man that's big.

Also, by the end of the year when Oubre was out they were tough and nearly beat the Lakers in the play in (Lakers needed a last second lucky 3 by LeBron to win) who were up on us in our series before AD went down.

I wouldn't underestimate them. We'll see who is right and if they continue their tear, high win % and pt differential.

[Blonde]

There are a bunch of speculative offers for Grant better than ours including Philly for Simmons (unlikely), Charlotte, Sacramento, NO, Warriors, Hawks and Mavs.

Most all of these have either great young prospects like Okongwu and Reddish, Wiseman or better firsts than what ours would likely be. I think they would have no interest than any players you propose (AT ALL) except Cam Johnson which I wouldn't do.

Of course nobody has interest in Saric/Smith/Hutchison lmao I’m not clueless… it’s just salary. CamJ is about as good of a young player as they will get for Grant though. He’s at least as valuable as Reddish or Okongwu. NO has Zion and Ingram, I don’t see how Grant is someone they’d target. Mavs have Porzingis but if they decide to play him at C it’s not like they have some warchest of assets better than us. Charlotte has Bridges/Hayward who are both better than Grant. GSW could have him if they wanted, true, but they won’t trade Wiseman for him and they should be targeting a center. This isn’t some star player we’re taking about here it’s Jerami Grant.

I think the main thing with some of those teams, particularly the Pelicans, would be offering picks, which would be a lot better and likely sooner than ours.

And I ask again, why would the Pelicans want Jerami Grant? They are terrible and already have 2 guys at his position that are better. Rebuilding/tanking teams are not trading for Grant.

[bwgood77]

Of course nobody has interest in Saric/Smith/Hutchison lmao I’m not clueless… it’s just salary. CamJ is about as good of a young player as they will get for Grant though. He’s at least as valuable as Reddish or Okongwu. NO has Zion and Ingram, I don’t see how Grant is someone they’d target. Mavs have Porzingis but if they decide to play him at C it’s not like they have some warchest of assets better than us. Charlotte has Bridges/Hayward who are both better than Grant. GSW could have him if they wanted, true, but they won’t trade Wiseman for him and they should be targeting a center. This isn’t some star player we’re taking about here it’s Jerami Grant.

I think the main thing with some of those teams, particularly the Pelicans, would be offering picks, which would be a lot better and likely sooner than ours.

And I ask again, why would the Pelicans want Jerami Grant? They are terrible and already have 2 guys at his position that are better. Rebuilding/tanking teams are not trading for Grant.

The goal is to add as many good players as possible. I don't think the Pelicans think of themselves as rebuilding but want to start to compete asap while Zion is there. Zion is a good player to have injury insurance for too.

I think other teams could use him too though as I mentioned, that have more desirable assets, whether it be GS, Charlotte, Washington, etc.

I just don't see what we would offer if other teams make offers as more appealing. That's my simple opinion.

[lilfishi22]

I like Grant's basketball fit on this team and adding someone of his talent would be awesome but I do feel like it's too risky bringing in a guy who would be coming off an injury (in maybe 6 wks) to his shooting hand. I also wouldn't want to give up the good chemistry, shooting and contribution from CamJ who is playing some of his best basketball of his career for potentially a non-player for at least 6 wks and who knows how he'll look when he comes back. That's not even taking into account time to build chemistry with the team etc.

Let's not forget, he decided to go to Detroit because he wanted to be "the man". He left a pretty great winning situation in Denver to join one of the worst teams in the league. I think it's a respectable and brave thing he did to put that sort of confidence in himself and that's something he needed to prosper in Detroit but I sort of have to question whether that would make him a good fit in Phoenix where he'll be playing 2nd and possibly 3rd fiddle to Booker/CP3. He'll essentially be going back to his old role in Denver

[bwgood77]

I like Grant's basketball fit on this team and adding someone of his talent would be awesome but I do feel like it's too risky bringing in a guy who would be coming off an injury (in maybe 6 wks) to his shooting hand. I also wouldn't want to give up the good chemistry, shooting and contribution from CamJ who is playing some of his best basketball of his career for potentially a non-player for at least 6 wks and who knows how he'll look when he comes back. That's not even taking into account time to build chemistry with the team etc.

Let's not forget, he decided to go to Detroit because he wanted to be "the man". He left a pretty great winning situation in Denver to join one of the worst teams in the league. I think it's a respectable and brave thing he did to put that sort of confidence in himself and that's something he needed to prosper in Detroit but I sort of have to question whether that would make him a good fit in Phoenix where he'll be playing 2nd and possibly 3rd fiddle to Booker/CP3. He'll essentially be going back to his old role in Denver

Did he state he wanted to "be the man" or anything like that? I think it could have also been a money factor and as for your point about being the man, maybe a way to showcase how much he can do, though I am sure if he was able to start for a competitor that he would prefer that to scoring more points in Detroit unless he simply is looking at his next contract.

[lilfishi22]

I like Grant's basketball fit on this team and adding someone of his talent would be awesome but I do feel like it's too risky bringing in a guy who would be coming off an injury (in maybe 6 wks) to his shooting hand. I also wouldn't want to give up the good chemistry, shooting and contribution from CamJ who is playing some of his best basketball of his career for potentially a non-player for at least 6 wks and who knows how he'll look when he comes back. That's not even taking into account time to build chemistry with the team etc.

Let's not forget, he decided to go to Detroit because he wanted to be "the man". He left a pretty great winning situation in Denver to join one of the worst teams in the league. I think it's a respectable and brave thing he did to put that sort of confidence in himself and that's something he needed to prosper in Detroit but I sort of have to question whether that would make him a good fit in Phoenix where he'll be playing 2nd and possibly 3rd fiddle to Booker/CP3. He'll essentially be going back to his old role in Denver

Did he state he wanted to "be the man" or anything like that? I think it could have also been a money factor and as for your point about being the man, maybe a way to showcase how much he can do, though I am sure if he was able to start for a competitor that he would prefer that to scoring more points in Detroit unless he simply is looking at his next contract.

He didn't specifically say he wanted to be the man but it was more about having the opportunity to grow into the man whereas it wasn't possible in Denver with Murray, Jokic and goldenboy MPJ.

“It was tough,” Grant said. “I was in a situation where I was comfortable. I loved my teammates, I loved the organization. It was a lot of things that made me teeter between my decision, but at the end of the day, I made the best decision for me and my career. My growth as a player is extremely important to me. It was a challenge. The challenge intrigued me. I made my decision, and I’m happy with it.”

In their sales pitch, the Nuggets vowed to work with Grant to help develop him as a player, a source said. It didn’t matter. After Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., the best the Nuggets could offer him was a fourth option in a budding offense. They believed that was compelling enough, in addition to the opportunity to play for a title contender.

“Jerami’s a great guy and a really good player,” said Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly. “He earned the right to be in unrestricted free agency. The whole time we were very encouraged. We were under the assumption we would get something done. Jerami, he wanted a new opportunity, a new challenge. He’s going to do great in Detroit. Detroit did a great job targeting him and recruiting him. Certainly was a bit surprising and disappointing, but we thank Jerami for all he did in the year here.”

As for the money part

Grant, speaking to reporters on Wednesday, said his decision to leave Denver wasn’t a “no-brainer” and that he went back and forth considering his options. In the end, relationships and growth potential mattered a lot to Grant, who left Denver for a 3-year, $60 million deal in Detroit. Denver offered him the same amount, according to a source.

https://www.denverpost.com/2020/12/02/pistons-jerami-grant-free-agent-leaving-nuggets/

[Ghost of Kleine]

I like Grant's basketball fit on this team and adding someone of his talent would be awesome but I do feel like it's too risky bringing in a guy who would be coming off an injury (in maybe 6 wks) to his shooting hand. I also wouldn't want to give up the good chemistry, shooting and contribution from CamJ who is playing some of his best basketball of his career for potentially a non-player for at least 6 wks and who knows how he'll look when he comes back. That's not even taking into account time to build chemistry with the team etc.

Let's not forget, he decided to go to Detroit because he wanted to be "the man". He left a pretty great winning situation in Denver to join one of the worst teams in the league. I think it's a respectable and brave thing he did to put that sort of confidence in himself and that's something he needed to prosper in Detroit but I sort of have to question whether that would make him a good fit in Phoenix where he'll be playing 2nd and possibly 3rd fiddle to Booker/CP3. He'll essentially be going back to his old role in Denver

Did he state he wanted to "be the man" or anything like that? I think it could have also been a money factor and as for your point about being the man, maybe a way to showcase how much he can do, though I am sure if he was able to start for a competitor that he would prefer that to scoring more points in Detroit unless he simply is looking at his next contract.

He didn't specifically say he wanted to be the man but it was more about having the opportunity to grow into the man whereas it wasn't possible in Denver with Murray, Jokic and goldenboy MPJ.

“It was tough,” Grant said. “I was in a situation where I was comfortable. I loved my teammates, I loved the organization. It was a lot of things that made me teeter between my decision, but at the end of the day, I made the best decision for me and my career. My growth as a player is extremely important to me. It was a challenge. The challenge intrigued me. I made my decision, and I’m happy with it.”

In their sales pitch, the Nuggets vowed to work with Grant to help develop him as a player, a source said. It didn’t matter. After Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., the best the Nuggets could offer him was a fourth option in a budding offense. They believed that was compelling enough, in addition to the opportunity to play for a title contender.

“Jerami’s a great guy and a really good player,” said Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly. “He earned the right to be in unrestricted free agency. The whole time we were very encouraged. We were under the assumption we would get something done. Jerami, he wanted a new opportunity, a new challenge. He’s going to do great in Detroit. Detroit did a great job targeting him and recruiting him. Certainly was a bit surprising and disappointing, but we thank Jerami for all he did in the year here.”

As for the money part

Grant, speaking to reporters on Wednesday, said his decision to leave Denver wasn’t a “no-brainer” and that he went back and forth considering his options. In the end, relationships and growth potential mattered a lot to Grant, who left Denver for a 3-year, $60 million deal in Detroit. Denver offered him the same amount, according to a source.

https://www.denverpost.com/2020/12/02/pistons-jerami-grant-free-agent-leaving-nuggets/

I'd think that Troy Weaver who knew him early on back from his OKC days played a significant role in his decision and moreover the inreased comfortability of going to Detroit in a more supportive role that gave Grant greater confidence towards that decision. Also of course the not having significant competition to compete against for a featured role in the starting lineup too.

I do still like the idea of pursuing him in 2023 free agency, once Saric and Crowder come off the books.

[Ghost of Kleine]

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