Jerami Grant has been a trade candidate ever since signing his five-year, $160 million deal to stay in Portland. With Damian Lillard's league-altering trade request coming just one day after the Trail Blazers drastically overpaid for Grant, many around the league assumed that Grant would be the next domino to fall.
After all, Lillard was the one who pushed for the Blazers to acquire Grant from the Detroit Pistons in the first place. With the Lillard connection out the window and Portland shifting to a more youthful timeline around Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson, it no longer made sense for the veteran Grant to stick around, especially at cost.
However, amidst all the constant trade rumors, Grant has made it clear that he isn't eager for a change.
Jerami Grant is unquestionably stuck on the Blazers this season
Leading up to the 2024 trade deadline, Grant told Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report that he was content staying in his hometown of Portland.
"But it's not anything in my control. I'm cool here," Grant said, via Highkin. "I'm good with what I'm doing. Keep my head down and keep working, keep trying to help the young guys as much as I can. But it's definitely something you see. It's not something you can do anything about, especially since I just signed a deal. I'm here for as long as they want me."
Fast forward to this summer, and it's an awkward situation now. Portland doesn't necessarily want Grant, but they have no choice. That's the uncomfortable expense -- $102.6 million to be exact, which is what Portland still owes Grant over the next three years.
He's coming off a down year by his own admission, averaging 14.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists on horrific 37/37/85 shooting splits. Any leeway Portland had with the ten percent salary cap increase to make Grant's contract look somewhat better has been mitigated by the salary cap constraints under the new CBA. Teams are much more selective in the contracts they take on, making Grant a negative asset.
Because a rebuilding Blazers team doesn't want to sacrifice draft capital to offload Grant's contract, they are stuck with him.
Grant got his wish to remain in Portland, a place that he really embraces. We would be happy if he were around under different circumstances, but unfortunately, Grant's contract has become a massive roadblock in Portland's rebuild. The one silver lining is that he's due for positive regression in 2025-26, but it still won't be enough to justify the deal or why general manager Joe Cronin didn't move him while he still had the chance.