Pistons’ Jerami Grant to miss rest of season with calf injury

Detroit — The Pistons said Monday evening that leading scorer Jerami Grant will miss the final seven games of the season with a left calf strain. He was injured in the first quarter of Friday’s game with the Wizards and didn’t play Sunday against the Knicks.

Now, it remains to be seen if Grant, a 6-foot-8 forward who averaged 19.2 points and had five games with 30-plus points, has played his last game for Detroit.

Grant, the subject of heavy trade rumors before the Feb. 10 deadline passed, will be in the final year of a three-year, $60 million contract next season.

He’ll bring less at next year’s trade deadline than he will in the offseason, and Pistons general manager Troy Weaver must weigh that factor should he decide it makes the most sense to not retain Grant beyond 2022-23.

Marvin Bagley III, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, has impressed Detroit coach Dwane Casey and everyone in the organization since being acquired nearly seven weeks ago. Bagley scored 25 when replacing Grant Friday, and 27 in Sunday’s start.

Still, Grant is just 28 and a proven commodity. He also averaged 4.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting .358 on 3-pointers and .838 at the free-throw line. He missed 18 games this season with a right thumb sprain.

Grant won a gold medal with the U.S. in the Tokyo Olympics, and is the nephew of 17-year NBA star Horace Grant, who won three championships with the Bulls and one with the Lakers.

Detroit acquired Grant from Denver Nov. 22, 2020, and signed him to a lucrative contract some questioned. He didn’t average double-digit points until his sixth season, when he averaged 13.6 for Oklahoma City in 2018-19 before averaging 12.0 for Denver the following season.

However, he averaged 22.3 last season for the Pistons and 19.2 this season, blossoming after getting the big money.

Livers not playing in Brooklyn

Rookie forward Isaiah Livers took part in Monday afternoon’s brief practice, and was the last Piston taking extra shooting practice. He appears close to returning from a concussion after missing the last three games.

Casey said Livers would be evaluated later in the day, and he didn’t end up traveling with the team for Tuesday night’s game in Brooklyn, remaining on the injured list.

Livers missed extensive time with a foot injury, but worked his way into the rotation once healthy. He had career-highs of 16 points, four 3-pointers, and six rebounds March 15 at Miami.

Steve Kornacki is a freelance writer.