$102.6 million -- that's how much the Portland Trail Blazers still owe veteran forward Jerami Grant. Portland signed Grant to a massive five-year, $160 million contract in the summer of 2023, just one day before Damian Lillard's trade request. From then on, it became clear that Grant no longer fit with the Blazers' new timeline as they were committed to rebuilding around recent top ten picks, Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson.
Just as confusing as the initial contract, general manager Joe Cronin didn't correct this mistake while he still had the chance.
Blazers' Jerami Grant mistake is only getting worse
Grant had some trade value left following the 2023-24 season after averaging 21.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists on 45/40/82 shooting splits. But the Blazers had an unrealistic (and laughable) asking price of two first-round picks for the veteran forward.
Unsurprisingly, no trade materialized. Grant remained in his hometown of Portland, with his trade value drastically dipping the following season.
When factoring in efficiency, Grant is coming off what is arguably the worst year of his career since his 2017-18 season with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He averaged 14.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists, shooting just 37.3 percent from the field. Grant's age, contract, and rapidly declining production officially make him a negative asset for the Blazers.
The one silver lining is that he's due for positive regression in 2025-26. However, the new CBA makes it much harder to justify these substantial contracts unless they are attached to a star, which Grant is not, regardless of a potential bounce-back season. At this point, Portland's best bet is to keep Grant in hopes of building his trade value back up to the point where they don't have to attach as much draft capital to dump him.
Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors listed Grant and Robert Williams III as trade candidates that "likely aren't part of the long-term plans in Portland."
Portland controls Williams' future as he's on an expiring contract. If his health continues to be unreliable, they can simply part ways after the season. However, they have little leverage with Grant's situation because he still has three years remaining on that massive deal (accounting for a player option in 2027-28). It may be a long shot, but Portland needs Grant to play better by February, so a contending team is willing to take on his contract by the deadline.
The Blazers must find a way to offload Grant to create more cap flexibility for roster upgrades and to retain their young core long term. Still, it's a fine line because they shouldn't be so desperate to move him where they attach valuable draft capital and sacrifice the very future they want to preserve by trading him in the first place.
It's not an ideal situation for the Blazers, but also a self-created problem. They didn't need to re-sign Grant, and they had a golden opportunity to move him before it was too late -- which it very well could be.