Atlanta Hawks: 5 trade options to replace John Collins

Atlanta Hawks: trade option at PF No. 1: Jerami Grant’s Olympic debut will make him a hot commodity this summer

Jerami Grant is coming off of a career year in his first season as the focal point for the Detroit Pistons. He averaged a career-best 22.3 points while chipping in 4.6 boards and 2.8 assists with 1.1 blocks for good measure. He also managed solid efficiency given the heightened expectations after spending his first seven seasons as a role player.

While they’d lose some offensive efficiency and athleticism going from Collins to Grant, the Hawks would gain some more perimeter defense without losing too much if anything inside.

It’s already a strength but the league is continuing to be more and more reliant upon strong perimeter both offensively and defensively. Teams can never have enough guys capable of switching defensively while Grant’s ability to carry an offense is a plus.

Of course, teams have been and will continue to check on the availability of Grant too. So far, they have been rebuffed; including some described and being “monster”. That jibes with the thinking of our friends over at Piston Powered who cite several reasons for the lack of motivation for the Pistons to part with a player they’ve prioritized to this point.

While The Athletic piece and the one from Piston Powered cite the lack of draft capital as a reason for Detroit’s hesitation — and rightfully so — perhaps a proven commodity sways them.

A sign-and-trade, however rare they may be, for Grant could scratch itches for both teams.

Atlanta would avoid losing Collins for nothing and could view the added defense of Grant as an upgrade. Detroit, meanwhile, could see the extra years of Collins’ prime (he’s four years younger) plus his highlight-reel dunks as worth it.

They can deny it all they want, Grant has just two years left on his deal and the Pistons finished with the worst record in the league last season.

A Phoenix Suns-like turnaround puts them two years and a Chris Paul-type addition away from contending. Turnarounds like the Hawks, where they found themselves in the Eastern Conference Finals after a basement finish would leave the Pistons in the position the Hawks are in now, forced to decide on a key piece of their turnaround at a critical time.