With the No. 19 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Brooklyn Nets just selected French guard Nolan Traore. The pick originally belonged to the Milwaukee Bucks but changed hands a bunch of times before landing with the Nets. And for a moment in time, the Portland Trail Blazers owned the pick.
They landed the pick in the CJ McCollum trade, as it was the New Orleans Pelicans’ before they owned it. However, they ended up flipping it further in the Jerami Grant trade, which has been rough for the Blazers. In theory, Grant should have helped Damian Lillard win in Portland, but that idea didn’t last long.
And now, Grant just doesn’t fit with the Blazers.
How did the pick go from the Blazers to the Nets?
Milwaukee started with the pick, but they traded it in the deal for Jrue Holiday. They shipped out a haul of draft picks to the Pelicans in exchange for Holiday, a move that paid off with a championship.
Then, the Pelicans traded the selection to the Trail Blazers for McCollum. New Orleans hasn’t been great since that deal, but the Blazers got a decent haul for one of their two franchise cornerstones.
From there is where the Blazers’ mistake began. In an attempt to improve their roster around Lillard (with the hopes of keeping him around and competing for titles), they traded the pick to the Pistons for Grant. Portland also sent two second-round picks to Detroit in the deal.
The pick wasn’t done moving around there, though.
Detroit moved the pick in the deal that landed them the draft rights to Jalen Duren. They also got back Kemba Walker from the New York Knicks.
And finally, the Knicks flipped the selection to the Brooklyn Nets. It was one of the multiple selections they sent out in the Mikal Bridges megadeal.
How has the Jerami Grant era gone for the Blazers?
When the Blazers traded for Grant, it made some sense. They added a great 3-and-D forward next to Lillard, who was also capable of putting up big scoring numbers.
Unfortunately for the Blazers, the Lillard-Grant pairing never took off. They only played together for one season, and they failed to make the playoffs that year. The following summer, Lillard was traded to the Bucks, and Grant was left in Portland on his own.
The Blazers handed Grant a giant extension, another questionable move for Portland, and since then, he’s been a veteran presence for their young core.
Still, the Grant trade is one that most Blazers fans probably won’t look back on too fondly.