The Portland Trail Blazers are entering the NBA offseason with some hope for the first time in years. After a successful 2024-25 season, Portland should be feeling very good about the future of the organization.
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While the Trail Blazers didn't reach the playoffs, the team was very competitive throughout the year. Portland made a push to get into the Western Conference Play-In Tournament but fell just short in the final weeks of the season.
Entering the offseason, the goals of the Trail Blazers are simple. The team needs to continue pushing toward contention, and they have a few veteran pieces that can be moved to help them make it happen.
One of those is forward Jerami Grant, and the team has been looking to trade him for a while. NBA writer Dan Favale of Bleacher Report is now urging Portland to offload the contract of Grant this summer.
"More than anything, this is about taking a veteran club out of head coach Chauncey Billups' bag. Grant shouldn't be playing 30-plus minutes per game when Portland remains in developmental mode—and in desperate need of better shooters around Avdija, Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe and Donovan Clingan.", he said.
The issue with trading Grant is that he is still owed a lot of money going forward. Portland may have to attach some draft capital for opposing teams to take on his contract, something that Favale doesn't encourage.
"To be sure: The Blazers shouldn't be attaching draft equity to Grant as part of a salary dump. But if the opportunity to flip him into shorter and/or cheaper deals or consolidate into a high-end player who better fits the roster and timeline presents itself, they need to pounce without hesitation.", he said.
If the Trail Blazers can find a trade partner for Grant, they should jump at the opportunity. Grant saw his production drop this past season, and his trade value seems to be very low right now.
For the year, he averaged 14.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. Pretty much all his numbers took a steep decline, and his time in Portland should be coming to an end.
It remains to be seen how the Trail Blazers will handle this, but moving on from Grant could be in the best interest of both sides.
More Trail Blazers news:
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Blazers Could Land $50 Million All-Star in Epic Trade Idea
Blazers Face Major Contract Extension Decisions on Multiple Stars
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