The Portland Trail Blazers could finally get off Jerami Grant's massive contract this Trade Season. The veteran forward is having a resurgent 2025-26 season, averaging 20.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists on 44/40/86 shooting splits.
Grant is still overpaid, but he's no longer the worst contract in the entire association. That gives Portland a much more realistic chance of improving its long-term outlook by offloading Grant prior to the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
Everything is aligning, as they even have a potential trade partner in the Milwaukee Bucks.
NBA insider Jake Fischer reported on The Stein Line (subscription required) that Milwaukee is looking to be a buyer at the deadline to upgrade its roster around superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. The issue, however, is that they will have to settle for overpaid players like Grant due to their limited assets. Fischer mentions Grant and Sacramento Kings guard Zach LaVine as players on the Bucks' radar for these reasons.
This presents a golden opportunity for Portland to finally solve its Jerami Grant problem, one that had previously seemed unsolvable. Still, one major roadblock is a question we shouldn't even have to ask ourselves, but unfortunately do.
Do the Blazers even truly want to trade Grant?
That answer should be a resounding yes. It's not.
"In the nearer term, though, it remains to be seen if the Bucks could even get traction on a Grant pursuit if they wanted to, since the 31-year-old has emerged as a favorite of Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin," Fischer writes.
Jerami Grant being a favorite of Joe Cronin is puzzling
Cronin doesn't want to admit that inking Grant to that massive five-year, $160 million deal one day before Damian Lillard's trade request was a mistake and is doubling down on that decision. It's also not all that surprising. Remind you, the Blazers were literally being laughed at for their previous steep asking price of two first-round picks for Grant.
“Joe Cronin asking for two first-rounders for Jerami Grant is hilarious,” an anonymous scout told Lakers Daily's Anthony Irwin. “Portland traded one first for him and then gave him that terrible contract. Why would he be more valuable now than he was when they landed him two years ago? But it’s what you can do when you feel like the other team is desperate.”
Cronin's reputation as a firm negotiator has had its perks. Portland has won the majority of its trades during his tenure as GM. But Grant is the one player he needed to change his stance on yesterday.
Ideally, Grant's massive contract would currently be the Los Angeles Lakers' problem if Cronin weren't so stubborn. But he needs to learn from that mistake by first accepting that it actually was one.
Portland has a rare second chance to send Grant to Milwaukee this time around. It would be foolish not to take that opportunity.