Grant is in the midst of his best season as a pro, and despite him not being selected for his first All-Star appearance this year, many teams have checked in on his availability and made offers, per league sources. However, Detroit appears to have *no interest* whatsoever in trading Grant, who is averaging 23.4 points this season and is in good position to win the NBA’s Most Improved Award, per league sources.
More on Jerami Grant Trade?
Among top trade targets for the Celtics: Detroit’s Jerami Grant, sources said. Grant is having a breakout season, averaging 23.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He is a leader for the Most Improved Player of the Year award.
Michael Singer: Source: Trade exception in Jerami Grant's S&T with Detroit is actually worth $9.525 million. Still significant.
The Denver Nuggets have acquired forward Jerami Grant from Oklahoma City in exchange for a 2020 first round pick, President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly announced today.
Chris Dempsey: Malone on Grant: “I think he’s going to fit seamlessly into our culture. And he’s a guy who was a starter on a playoff team.” #Nuggets
The Thunder were prepared to honor the commitments on the agreements while also allowing the players to reconsider their situations. With George traded, the Thunder are changing course, focusing on rebuilding with draft assets and young players. They traded Jerami Grant to the Denver Nuggets on Monday, league sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, collecting their sixth first-round draft pick in the past three days.
Denver will acquire Jerami Grant with the $12.8M trade exception (created in the Wilson Chandler trade to Philadelphia last July) that was set to expire today (July 8). Grant is under contract for the next two seasons with a cap hit of $9.3M each year. The forward has a player option in 2020-21. Denver is now $1.9M under the luxury tax with 13 players under contract.
The trade happened early in the season, hours before the third game. The Thunder had been inquiring about Grant for a while before the deal occurred. “This is something that Oklahoma City has pursued for some time,” Colangelo said. “They’ve expressed an interest in Jerami Grant over the course of time. The offers continued to get richer and richer. This led to the right timing from our perspective when the offer became realistic for us to make a move with Jerami, who we viewed as a nice young piece here.”
“The injuries that we’re all aware of forces some of this,” Sixers head coach Brett Brown said of the trade. “You’re really trying to remain competitive and get a positionally-balanced type of roster. The injuries, I think, maybe expedited some of these decisions.”
T.J. McConnell was preparing for Tuesday’s game against the Magic when his phone rang. Jerami Grant was calling to let McConnell know he had been traded to the Thunder. “I was really sad,” McConnell said. “I know a lot of people around here are sad because Jerami was like the favorite guy in the locker room. Everyone loved him.”
Robert Covington described Grant’s personality as “unmatched." Nik Stauskas noted Grant was one to lift spirits amid the flurry of struggles. Grant experienced 28 wins and 138 losses during his time with the Sixers.
Derek Bodner: If the 1st round pick doesn't convey, would convert to 2 second-round picks (2022, 2023), per source.
Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo announced today the team has acquired forward Ersan Ilyasova and a conditional first-round pick from the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for forward Jerami Grant.
Royce Young: The Thunder also generate a $7.5 million trade exception in this deal, which expires a year from today.
“This is a unique deal that allows us to address both short term needs and longer term goals at the same time," Colangelo said. "Ersan will bring us much needed perimeter shooting, floor spacing and roster balance, while the acquisition of a future pick or picks should continue to drive our ability to generate future roster building options. On behalf of the entire organization, I want to thank Jerami for his valuable contributions to our team and for always being the respectable and classy professional that he is.”
The Thunder have been trying to find an athletic forward to complement their roster and pursued Grant as a short-term solution. Oklahoma City has maintained a strong interest in making a deal for Sacramento forward Rudy Gay, but the Grant deal allows the franchise to save money with the departure of Ilyasova’s $.8.4 million contract this season.
Jessica Camerato: The Sixers plan to keep Ilyasova, according to a source.
Marc Stein: ESPN sources say that the Sixers made the trade to KEEP Ersan Ilyasova. They've wanted a stretch four to help Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor. Beyond the additional spacing that Ilyasova should bring, trading for him brings Philadelphia within roughly $8 million of the salary floor.
Jeff Zillgitt: The pick the Thunder are sending the Sixers is a future first-rounder but with multiple protections, I've been told.
Derek Bodner: Can confirm @Jeff Zillgitt report that the pick the #sixers are getting is a conditional 1st. No word yet on protections.
Jake Fischer: As @Jeff Zillgitt reports the Sixers receive a protected first rounder, don't be surprised if the Sixers waive Ersan Ilyasova pretty shortly.
Adrian Wojnarowski: Philadelphia has traded Jerami Grant to OKC, league sources tell @The Vertical.
Adrian Wojnarowski: OKC sends Ersan Ilyasova and a conditional future pick to the Sixers, league sources tell @The Vertical.
