Jerami Grant hasn't played since the Blazers' Dec. 28 win over the Dallas Mavericks, missing Portland's past five games due to a face contusion. Despite playing without Grant, who was widely viewed as their best player heading into the 2024-25 season, Rip City has won two of their last five games.
Their most recent game resulted in a 119-100 blowout win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Deni Avdija was the game's leading scorer with 26 points, six rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block on 10-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc.
It's already been apparent that Grant is expendable in trade talks leading up to the Feb. 6 deadline since he doesn't fit into Portland's rebuilding timeline at 30 years old. Their recent stretch has made it clear that not only is he expendable, but moving him is urgent to clear a starting spot for Avdija.
Blazers must trade Jerami Grant so Deni Avdija can start
Avdija entered the season as a starter for Portland, but his struggling shot and Shaedon Sharpe's return from his shoulder injury demoted Avdija to a bench role. However, his shot has positively regressed, and he now shoots 36.4 percent from deep during the season. With his improved shooting, Avdija is now arguably the Blazers' best player, even ahead of Grant, who has struggled with scoring inefficiencies this season, averaging 15 points on 38.2 percent from the field.
After years of lacking wings, Portland finally has two reliable ones in Avdija and Toumani Camara. Kris Murray's late play has also been pleasantly surprising, suggesting he can be a reliable bench piece going forward. Although still a raw prospect, 20-year-old Rayan Rupert has also shown flashes and could develop into a valuable two-way player. These emerging players need increased roles, and GM Joe Cronin needs to dive into Portland's rebuild more.
The most obvious piece that needs to be traded as soon as possible is Grant. Cronin likely already waited too long to maximize a potential return for Grant and should have traded him over the offseason when his value was higher. But at this point, the Blazers need to find the best deal they can for Grant before Feb. 6.
Currently, the only three Blazers on the books for 2027-28 are Avdija, Clingan (team option), and Grant (player option). Avdija and Clingan are on team-friendly deals, so it's great that Portland has them locked up for so long. That will help them add another piece when they eventually accelerate their rebuild. The next step is moving Grant, not just for financial reasons but also to give Avdija a much-deserved increased role.