The Los Angeles Lakers’ efforts to acquire Jerami Grant have yet to materialize, despite an offer to the Detroit Pistons of two players and a future first-round pick.
Marc Stein noted that two young members of the Lakers’ backcourt were part of the proposed deal, along with a first-rounder five years from now.
“Reason being: That 2027 first is clearly the most valuable trade asset that the Lakers currently possess,” Stein wrote. “The Lakers have tried, with no luck yet, to package that pick with Talen Horton-Tucker and Kendrick Nunn in an attempt to acquire Jerami Grant from Detroit.”
Past trades serve as the reason why the Lakers can’t offer a first-round pick before 2027, while the duo of Horton-Tucker and Nunn is young enough to possibly garner some interest on the trading market.
The 21-year-old Horton-Tucker is in his third season with the Lakers and has started 15 of the 29 games he’s played for the team this season. In those contests, he’s averaging 10.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.
Nunn was signed during the offseason, but has yet to play for the Lakers due to injury. Despite being 26 years old, Nunn has only two years of NBA experience with the Miami Heat.
During those two campaigns, Nunn averaged 15.0 points, 3.0 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game, and managed to start 111 of the 123 games he played in for the Heat.
Grant turns 28 in March, with the veteran forward currently sidelined by injury. However, he can clearly contribute when he’s on the court and was averaging 20.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.1 blocks and 1.1 steals per game.
Exactly what it would take for the Lakers to acquire Grant remains a mystery, but the team can’t afford to struggle for much longer.
The Lakers begin a six-game Eastern Conference road trip on Friday night and have dropped four of their last five games. At 22-23 on the year, they need to start building momentum soon if they have any hopes of making a deep playoff run this season.
