Ranking best Jerami Grant trade destinations amid Blazers' rough season

12/18/2024 12:22 PM

In 2022, the Portland Trail Blazers acquired Jerami Grant in one last-ditch effort to surround Damian Lillard with as much talent as possible. In the end, it was all for naught, as the Blazers finished with a 33-49 record amid another lost season. Trade rumors surrounding Lillard were only growing louder, but the Blazers still decided to put forth one last try to convince their franchise cornerstone to stay — keeping Grant on a five-year, $160 million contract.

In the end, of course, Lillard still decided to request a trade, and the Blazers granted (pun unintended) this wish of his — leaving the team stuck with Grant making an average of $32 million per season until the 2027-28 campaign. But now, that may be one of the worst decisions the Blazers have ever made.

The 2024-25 season has not gone swimmingly at all for Grant; he has had a few good games here and there, but to say that his overall play can be considered good would be a lie. At the time of writing,s the 30-year-old forward is averaging 16.1 points per game — his worst mark since becoming a full-time starter in 2020 — on a true shooting percentage of 53.6, his worst mark since his sophomore campaign.

The Blazers, for better of for worse, appear stuck with Grant. They are still on the hook for about $132 million on his contract, and not too many teams would want to stomach that kind of money for someone who is struggling. Now, the hope for any contending team that will be acquiring Grant is for him to settle into a lower role in the offensive pecking order and become more of a defensive specialist who can hit shots — the same role he had for the last winning team that he played for, the 2019-20 Denver Nuggets.

With that in mind, here are some teams that could benefit from a trade with the Blazers for Grant.

3. Indiana Pacers

Much like Jerami Grant’s 2024-25 season, this current campaign has not gone according to plan for the reigning Eastern Conference finalist Pacers. Despite having the services of Pascal Siakam from the jump, the Pacers have not strung together a consistent run of solid play yet this season, as they have a 12-15 record at the time of writing.

But the Pacers can thank their lucky stars that they reside in the East and that their slow start to the season hasn’t yet cost them much in terms of playoff positioning. They sit in eighth place in the standings, which puts them right in the thick of the hunt for an outright playoff berth.

While the Pacers already pushed their chips to the middle of the table when they traded for Siakam, perhaps they can look at Grant as someone who can bolster their wing depth further. The loss of Aaron Nesmith hasn’t been talked about as much, but it’s been clear that Indiana has been missing his 3-and-D contributions on the wing.

The problem, however, is that the Pacers won’t want to lose both Nesmith and Obi Toppin in a trade for Grant. However, that is the only feasible way for them to match salaries with the Blazers. This will prevent a trade from materializing, but on paper, Grant looks like he’d be a seamless fit alongside Tyrese Haliburton and company.

2. Miami Heat

The Heat appear to be bracing for life after Jimmy Butler, as the 35-year-old forward who has led them deep into the playoffs on multiple occasions is on the trade block. Now, while Jerami Grant is far from a one for one replacement for Butler, he sure would fit in quite well on the team as someone who can be a dogged defender on the wing as well as someone who can create his own shot in spurts.

Perhaps the Heat can bring out a bit of a career renaissance from Grant, who has some room for positive regression amid his down 2024-25 campaign. They could build a package around Terry Rozier, who has taken on a full-time bench role in recent weeks, and it shouldn’t take much draft capital, if any, to get the Blazers to trade Grant away.

1. Sacramento Kings

The Kings stand out as a team that is ripe for an upgrade, especially at the forward positions. Considering how many ballhandlers and shot-creators they already have, Jerami Grant won’t have to overextend himself and dribble too much in the event that the Kings trade for him.

Sacramento can package Kevin Huerter and Trey Lyles in a trade for Grant, and as said previously, given the considerable financial commitment the Blazers still have towards the 30-year-old, it won’t take much for the Blazers to trade him away.

Grant can then function as the team’s sixth man now that Malik Monk is starting, and he will give the Kings some additional defensive versatility, as he has played in the past as a small-ball center in some lineups. He could also feature in lineups with two big forwards, lining up alongside Keegan Murray, giving the 13-14 Kings more lineup options as they navigate their middling season thus far.

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