Most Affected Trail Blazer #4: Jerami Grant
Until now, the Blazers have all been saying and hinting the right things when it comes to Jerami Grant’s return to the team – Grant included. There seems to be a mutual interest between both parties to continue their affiliation, but the acquisition of a top-three draft pick does somewhat change the calculus of the decision.
Grant had one of his best seasons in Portland, scoring at a high clip and cementing himself as the second or third banana behind Lillard in the pecking order. He was a solid defender, OK shooter, and cleared the admittedly-low bar that Portland had for forwards in the years since Aldridge.
Thus, instead of Grant looking like one of the Blazers who could soon see the boot out of the door, he looks to be one of the most indispensable players for Portland in its quest back to the playoffs. There simply isn’t another forward that the team could bring in outside of using their third pick, but then they’d still have a hole at a forward position with Grant’s absence.
In that way, Grant has been one of those most affected due to his upswing in good luck. Instead of heavily implied interest, Grant can now demand a hefty sum of money from the Blazers, knowing that he wants to be back and they need him back.
Simply put, after their lottery luck, losing Grant isn’t an option if the Blazers want to be good next season.