Is Jerami Grant a realistic trade target for the Pelicans?

New Orleans Pelicans: Trading for Jerami Grant

There are three main reasons that trading for a guy like Jerami Grant is a bad idea.

• Salary

The New Orleans Pelicans are going to have a very expensive roster soon with Zion’s extension looming. They will also have to decide whether to extend CJ McCollum, who is not going to be cheap.

They need to keep a steady stream of young talent coming so that they can get production from some of their minimum-salary guys, which is what you have to do if you are going to have a top-heavy payroll with three max players.

Grant’s salary wound’t hurt them next season, but it might after that depending on his next deal, and if they let him walk they would have given up a top-10 pick for a one-year rental, which is not smart business unless you win a title.

• Skills

At this point in their respective careers, Jerami Grant is a better all-around player than Trey Murphy III, arguably Herb Jones (Herb is better on defense) and certainly Larry Nance Jr.

But he has some redundant skills with all of them, which could create a logjam at forward. Yes, he would give the Pels some insurance and depth, but they might be better off investing their resources elsewhere.

Grant would be nice, but he’d be a luxury for a team that’s going to be up against the cap very soon.

• Need

In my opinion, the Pels are a Zion away from being a contender next season, so if he stays healthy, they might be able to keep their draft pick, make the playoffs and compete without making a splashy move.

Using the draft pick to grab another veteran is certainly an option, and I wouldn’t rule it out, as the Pels are ready to win now and may go for it, but there is also a solid argument for patience, as they can wait and make a move like this at the deadline using a future pick.