3 Players the Blazers might replace Jerami Grant with by the trade deadline
By Reese Kunz
Jerami Grant is someone that the Portland Trail Blazers should strongly consider trading. He's the only player on their roster who is 30 years or older and is entering the second season of a five-year, $160 million deal signed last offseason. He's a great player, but Grant significantly hinders the Blazers' financial flexibility in the future and doesn't fit their rebuilding timeline.
Given the limited amount of options available on the trade market, it may be wise for the Blazers to move Grant before training camp to maximize his trade value. However, they should move him by the 2025 trade deadline at the latest to ensure the best lottery odds possible for landing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
1. Rui Hachimura
The Los Angeles Lakers still appear to be the most likely landing spot for Jerami Grant if the Blazers decide to trade him by the 2025 trade deadline. LeBron James' willingness to take nearly a $3 million pay cut made a potential deal easier. It allowed them to stay under the second apron, meaning they can aggregate salaries in a trade; this will be significant in a Grant trade, given he's owed $29.8 million in the 2024-25 season.
The Lakers' trade assets are the main issue when constructing a trade to send Grant to Los Angeles. Some possible trade options that the Blazers can get back include D'Angelo Russell ($18.7 million next season), Gabe Vincent ($11 million), and Max Christie ($7.1 million). The Blazers are not interested in D-Lo, although they could flip his expiring contract for additional assets.
The forwards that Portland could get back are Rui Hachimura ($17 million) and Jarred Vanderbilt ($10.7 million). Both are serviceable role players but not quite needle movers to entice the Blazers enough to move off of one of their best players in Grant (despite his substantial contract. Hachimura did shoot 42.2 percent from three last season on 3.4 attempts per game, but consistency is a huge issue, as he dipped below 30 percent the previous year.
The aggregate of Hachimura and Vanderbilt could replace Grant, but it would still be a significant downgrade. It's fair to wonder if someone else like Blazers' Toumani Camara would wind up being the starting forward over Hachimura at that point. Regardless of who would end up starting, whether it would be Hachimura, Camara, or someone else entirely, the main point is that a potential Grant deal with the Lakers hinges on draft capital being the focal point of the return for Portland.