Lakers fans go crazy as LeBron James and the team’s plan to acquire Jerami Grant falls through
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The Lakers really need a boost right now.
This team may have been considered the biggest contender from the West before this season, but there is no point in remembering that now. The reality of this situation now is, the team would be lucky to acquire a seeding high enough to avoid the play-in. And while the play-in tournament is the likely scenario for this team, missing the playoffs completely could well be a possibility as well.
Given this situation, the organization has been reported to be extremely active in trade talks this season. And as was popularly known by one point, Jerami Grant was one of their prime trade targets. And why not?
The player has the perfect skill set for this team. He is a near-elite defender whenever his team needs him, as he showed during his time with the Nuggets. And on offense, he has the affinity to hit some major shots for his team.
After reading all of that, you must be asking ‘well, what’s the hold-up, then?!’.
Allow us to tell you everything.
Jerami Grant is not interested in joining LeBron James and the Lakers
Yep, it’s as simple as that. Just… maybe not for the reasons you think.
Many would probably expect the reason to be that the Lakers are in complete shambles, and any outside player doesn’t want to be involved in their mess. But the thing is, Jerami Grant left the Nuggets right after they made the Conference Finals, to join the Pistons, who were unequivocally the worst team in the league at the time. So no. The lack of winning is not the problem here.
So what IS the problem, you ask? Well, take a look at the tweet below.
“I’ve actually heard Lakers have passed on Jerami Grant. He doesn’t want to play a tertiary role behind Bron/AD.”
(Via @19MGroup | h/t @Ralph_MasonJr ) pic.twitter.com/OTjpeb9IX3
— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) January 25, 2022
Yep, the real reason is, the man just doesn’t want to play fourth, third, or even second fiddle to anyone. Not even to the likes of LeBron James. And while Lakers fans may cuss him out for it (and boy have they, on Twitter), the man is already 27-years-old after all and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2023.
With that in mind, he has to look at franchises where he will be allowed to show off his full skillset so that he can get paid when the time comes. So, with that in mind, it makes sense why he doesn’t want to chase a championship right now.
Not that he would be able to do that with the Lakers, anyway.