Almost everyone outside the Portland Trail Blazers front office saw the Jerami Grant contract as a mistake. Portland inked Grant to a massive five-year, $160 million deal in 2023. Damian Lillard requested a trade just one day later, making Grant's fit even more questionable on what was suddenly a rebuilding roster.
That made Grant a logical trade candidate throughout the years. He survived longer than expected as general manager Joe Cronin apparently valued him higher than the market. That increasingly became the case as Grant's decreased production resulted in the league's perception that Portland suddenly had one of the biggest negative assets on its hands.
Under aggressive new owner Tom Dundon, this offseason felt a bit different as far as the Blazers' chances of finally parting ways with Grant. Once the Memphis Grizzlies made Ja Morant available for trade, he immediately fit the criteria of the type of trade Dundon has a history of making during his time successfully turning around the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes, recent winners of the Stanley Cup. He tends to buy low on these distressed assets, and Morant is the first example of that approach carrying over from the NHL to the NBA.
Fortunately for Portland, Morant was perhaps one of the few players around the league who had arguably an even worse trade value than Grant. Grant is overpaid, but he's at least a relatively seamless fit. A low-maintenance player and person who has positional size and can shoot. Every team can use that player archetype. Not every team can use Morant, who is more of a polarizing star.
Ja Morant's proven upside is an upgrade over Jerami Grant
Portland deserves props for being the one team willing to take on any perceived risk to bet on Morant's talent. So far, talent is winning out as these unselfish playmakers have made the crowded backcourt work, resulting in a 3-0 start to preseason. Morant is already a big part of that, showing that this could be a steal for the Blazers if he's truly willing to buy into that role over the course of an 82-game season.
The Blazers entered the offseason with Grant as a trade candidate, but the expectation was they'd have to attach future assets to make a win-now move with Grant as that salary filler. The fact that they were able to bring in a two-time All-Star like Morant without including draft capital makes this trade an instant win for Portland. Yes, I know Kris Murray was also included in the deal. But sorry Kris Murray, you were expendable.
With Grant being a negative asset, the Blazers would almost have to include yet another draft pick just to incentivize that team to take on that contract. Portland boldly took the opposite approach: the more expensive, even bigger negative asset in Morant.
Cronin has a history of these unconventional, often criticized or initially hard to understand, bold bets ultimately working out in favor of its rebuild. It's early in the trade, but there are already promising signs that this Morant trade will be the latest on his list of wins.
The Grant contract was still a mistake that hurt this franchise for years. But the Blazers managed to turn it into a player like Morant, who has proven star upside, without giving up any picks. That’s a best-case scenario, finally bailing Cronin out of that contract and raising Portland’s ceiling in the process.
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