Pistons forward Jerami Grant will be out indefinitely with torn ligaments in his right thumb, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Grant suffered the injury in Friday night’s loss to the Pelicans as the thumb was bent backward in an awkward manner. He has been Detroit’s most consistent player for the first two months of the season, averaging 20.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 24 games.
Tests conducted earlier today confirmed the extent of the injury, according to Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link).
Grant, who has one more year left on his contract at $20.995MM, has been the subject of trade rumors as the Pistons begin to look toward building for the future. A mid-November report suggested that the Sixers might have interest in Grant in a potential Ben Simmons swap, but that rumor seems to have gone cold.
While Grant is out of action, more playing time may fall to power forward Trey Lyles, who is averaging 7.8 points and 4.3 rebounds off the bench in his first season in Detroit.