In a first quarter with no shortage of ugly basketball against the Los Angeles Lakers, a lone fragment of hope checked in with 6:55 left. When the dust settled and the horn sounded, the Trail Blazers had 28 points. Jerami Grant had nearly a third of them. That fervor continued into the second quarter; with Shaedon Sharpe struggling, Grant took up the mantle and continued to push, scoring three quick ones to begin the next frame. The pace never really let up for Grant, who finished with 22 points in 28 minutes.
It’s time for General Manager Joe Cronin to step up and do something his predecessor, Neil Olshey, never dared: sell high.
Blazers must capitalize on Jerami Grant's rising value
It may be due to the fact that Portland is one of the smaller one-sport cities, or that it’s not seen as a popular free-agent destination, or perhaps it’s some good old-fashioned Pacific Northwest softness, but Blazers fans tend to cheer for a player’s peaks and look the other way in the valleys. Do not let this distract from the fact that the Blazers tried desperately to trade Grant heading into the season.
Before tonight, Grant averaged 22.7 points per game, leading the Blazers despite coming off the bench. To say that nobody expected such a thing is a bit of an understatement—just prior to an outstanding preseason, the Blazers lavished a combined $172 million on young players Shaedon Sharpe and Toumani Camara, expecting a scoring punch from Sharpe that has yet to materialize.
While the table is set for Grant to put up some relatively gaudy stats, this should not distract from the idea of getting real, meaningful assets for Jerami Grant. Sharpe won’t be cold forever, and the Trail Blazers may still yet miss the playoffs as they tread water in a Western Conference that’s tougher than ever. If Cronin keeps Grant through yet another trade deadline, it may spell trouble.
Even after both contract extensions, Grant’s salary is the second-highest on the team at $600K below Jrue Holiday. Packaging him with someone making comparatively very little, such as Duop Reath, and receiving two serviceable pieces makes almost too much sense.
Now that Grant has embraced his bench role, why not parlay that action into prying a pair of solid veterans from a team leaning into a rebuild? While it’s too early in the season to determine exactly which teams those are, Cronin should be keeping his ear to the ground, should something crop up.