NBA Rumors: Mavs 'Dark-Horse' For Jerami Grant Trade; Linked to Collins & Smart

The Dallas Mavericks are considered a 'dark-horse' for Detroit Pistons' Jerami Grant. Can Dallas work out a deal before the NBA trade deadline?

For a while now, we've written at DallasBasketball.com about how a Dallas Mavericks trade for Detroit Pistons forward Jerami Grant could make sense for all parties involved, especially if the Los Angeles Lakers' offer for Grant is the best one Detroit has gotten. All of our on-paper logic made sense, but there wasn't really much noise elsewhere in regards to whether or not it was something the Mavs might actually pursue... until now, that is.

According to a report by Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus, the Mavericks are officially a team to watch as a Grant suitor.

"One dark-horse team mentioned was being interested in Grant was the Dallas Mavericks," said Pincus. "With Dorian Finney-Smith and Dwight Powell a the primary pieces."

As we wrote in our initial trade proposal, Grant is no longer the Pistons' primary focus going forward since drafting rookie guard Cade Cunningham. And to be fair, Grant wouldn't be the primary focus in Dallas either, given that Luka Doncic is the bonafide No. 1 option, but he could very likely be the team's second-best scorer behind Doncic and a piece that elevates the Mavs from a decent playoff contender to a legit title contender.

Surely a proposal of that nature would sound better to Grant, who is in his athletic prime at age 27, than continuing to lose games as the top-scorer on the Pistons. And although the Lakers are the Lakers, the Mavs are clearly the younger and better team at this point in the season. If Grant values winning and fit, one would think he'd have the Mavs on his list as well.

Our trade proposal featured Tim Haraway Jr., Josh Green and a first-round pick going to Detroit in exchange for Grant, given that the Pistons have shown interest in Hardaway Jr. as recently as last summer. However, taking on shorter-contract players like Finney-Smith and Powell might make more sense for Detroit. Although he's not the scorer that Grant is, Finney-Smith brings a lot of the same things to the table on the defensive end, and many project him to sign a new contract this summer that is a good bit less than what Grant is currently making.

"The Mavericks have also been linked to (John) Collins in Atlanta and Marcus Smart in Boston," added Pincus.

The Collins mention is not surprising, as he figures to be a great fit next to Doncic and has been linked to Dallas for more than a year now, but it is interesting to see DFW native Smart linked to the Mavs this time around. Smart hasn't shot over 40 percent from the field in three straight seasons now, and his three-point shooting has been on a steady decline since the 2018-19 season. Unless Boston is just looking to give away Smart at this point, we're not sure that potential pairing makes much sense anymore.

Stay tuned to DallasBasketball.com for all Mavs trade rumor and report updates.