The Los Angeles Lakers are slowly working their way back to top form. But besides LeBron James, neither of their top guns have played at the All-NBA kind of level they’ve expected from them.

Rob Pelinka made plenty of moves during the offseason and filled the roster with veterans. However, they’ve struggled to stay on the court and haven’t exactly been very good when healthy anyway.

With that in mind, the Lakers have been tied to Detroit Pistons’ forward Jerami Grant, who’s likely to be traded before the deadline as he looks to join a contender. For that,Nihad Žunić of ClutchPoints explains how they can get it done.

NBA Rumors: Lakers Could Offer Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn, For Jerami Grant

(Transcript via ClutchPoints)

“This trade depends on whether the Pistons think they can really get more out of Grant. The Lakers cannot offer much more, as they are spending most of their cap on LeBron, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook. However, this offer is still very good for both squads. The Lakers get a capable scorer who will put up points and help LeBron get the squad where they need to be. The Pistons will get some solid rotational pieces and a potentially great player in Horton-Tucker.”

Horton-Tucker fits the Pistons’ timeline and is cheaper and younger than Grant, so that makes sense for them. Grant, on the other hand, could give the Lakers a versatile defender and another scoring threat.

Shannon Sharpe Warns The Lakers Not To Trade For Grant

Nonetheless, Lakers fan and sports analyst Shannon Sharpe isn’t so sure about Grant. Per the NFL Hall of Famer, he may not be ok with taking a step back to LeBron, Russell Westbrook, and Anthony Davis:

“Here’s the thing about Jerami Grant. He left Denver because he didn’t want to be third filler for Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray,”Sharpe started.“He left for the same money to go Detroit and be top dog.”

“Is he going to be okay being fourth dog when he didn’t want to be third dog?”Sharpe added.“Those are the things the Lakers need to ask themselves. (…) Is he going to be okay? Bron, AD, Russ, Jerami Grant when he didn’t want to be Joke, Murray, Jerami Grant.”

Even so, that’s a risk the Lakers just need to take. They’re playing like a first-round exit at best and the clock is ticking on them.

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