Early returns on Deni Avdija and Donovan Clingan suggest that the Portland Trail Blazers had a successful offseason. Avdija is emerging as arguably Portland's best player, as his three-point shooting has significantly picked up from the slow start to the season. Clingan looks like a safe bet to be their long-term starting center based on his elite defensive impact alone, with room to grow offensively.
GM Joe Cronin deserves credit for both moves. However, while the Blazers' offseason had its successes, it was far from perfect. One massive mistake Cronin made was keeping around the $160 million elephant in the room: Jerami Grant.
The Blazers waited too long to trade Jerami Grant
NBA insiders from ESPN highlighted one player to watch on all 30 teams [subscription required] leading up to the trade deadline, naming Grant as the player for Portland. They mentioned that the Blazers' potential trade return is dwindling, writing, "The Blazers might already have waited too long to make a move with Grant."
Moving Grant by the trade deadline should be Portland's No. 1 priority. He's taking a starting role away from Avdija, preventing the Blazers from bottoming out for a better draft pick, and doesn't fit their rebuilding timeline at 30 years old. He's also on the books until 2027-28, with a $36.4 million player option. It's obvious that Grant needs to go; however, what is more difficult is finding a trade partner.
Cronin had a steep asking price of two first-round picks for Grant over the summer, and it's safe to say that it needs to significantly go down if Portland realistically wants to move their veteran forward. Grant's value has dropped with his down season, averaging 15.0 points and shooting an inefficient 38.2 percent from the field.
The trade market has also turned against Portland, further complicating their situation. The new CBA has limited teams' financial flexibility, which, in turn, has increased the value of second-round picks (as well as minimum contracts). One example was the Lakers being able to acquire 3-and-D wing Dorian Finney-Smith without having to sacrifice a first-round pick.
DFS was the most recent deal, but the Warriors were able to acquire Dennis Schröder for just second-round picks as well. Several other valuable role players -- Jonas Valančiūnas, Malcolm Brogdon, Kelly Olynyk, Bruce Brown, and Jordan Clarkson -- are also available for second-round picks [subscription required], according to Marc Stein on The Stein Line.
The reality is that teams are better off trading for one of those veterans for a much lower asking price rather than striking a deal with Portland for Grant. The contract isn't horrible for a player of his caliber, but it makes it much harder to get a deal done under the new CBA.
More concerningly, his declining play no longer warrants the assets required to land him, especially given the alternative options. Those players weren't as clearly available in the offseason when Grant was more of a hot commodity as a trade target around the league.
There's still a scenario in which Portland can find a team desperate enough to trade for Grant before the Feb. 6 trade deadline. But don't expect anywhere close to the return they could have received in the offseason. The ESPN NBA insiders put it best: "Getting out of the three years remaining on Grant's contract might be the best return for the Blazers."