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As the NBA trade deadline draws nearer and nearer, trade rumors are starting to fly around like crazy. As expected, the Boston Celtics have been mentioned in many of them.
Armed with a $28.5 million traded player extension that came from the Gordon Hayward trade as well as a smaller trade exception from the Enes Kanter deal, the C's have the potential to be big-time players at the deadline.
It's not a guarantee that they will make a big move. Danny Ainge has even said the Hayward TPE will most likely be used during the offseason. But with the team plateauing at 19-18, many believe the Celtics will need help if they want to be true contenders this offseason.
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The C's have been tied to numerous available players, and one of them is Detroit Pistons forward Jerami Grant. The Athletic's James Edwards III reported that the Celtics have offered "multiple firsts" for his services in a recent appearance on The A-List Podcast with A. Sherrod Blakely and Kwani Lunis.
Grant would certainly fill a need for the Celtics. The seventh-year man is thriving in his first season with the Pistons, and he is averaging 23.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. All of those numbers are career-highs.
Ainge has spoken about acquiring size and shooting at the deadline. Grant provides a bit of both, as he has a long 6-foot-8 frame and has been a better-than-average shooter over the course of his career.
This season, Grant is shooting 43.4 percent from the field and 35.8 percent from behind the arc, but he has done so while taking nearly 18 shots per game on a team where he's the No. 1 option. Were he to join the C's, he would probably get more open looks and would have a chance to be a more efficient player, as he was for three different teams during the last three seasons.
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That said, Edwards did indicate that while Pistons GM Troy Weaver had implied nobody is untouchable, Detroit isn't likely to move Grant, though the Celtics seem to want him badly.
"I don't think Jerami Grant is on another team starting in April. Boston seems like a team that is very, very, very desperate to get him," Edwards said. "Like Troy said, never say never, but I don't think a team is willing to go where it takes to get Jerami away from Detroit."
Ainge has gotten aggressive in trade talks before, and famously once offered four first-round picks to the Charlotte Hornets to move up and select Justise Winslow. Could he do the same if he's enamored with Grant?
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Maybe. But Celtics fans shouldn't hold their collective breath and assume that a move will happen.