NBA Trade Deadline: Jerami Grant More Realistic for Mavs Than Pascal Siakam?
The Dallas Mavericks' main objective before the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 8 is to improve their frontcourt situation, both at the starting power forward and backup center. The former is what has kept the Mavs popping up in trade rumors recently, as they've been linked to Toronto Raptors' Pascal Siakam several times.
However, if the Mavs want a versatile four to plug in alongside Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively II without having to worry about potentially losing the player in six months from now in free agency, perhaps Portland Trail Blazers' Jerami Grant could be the better option to pursue. Grant re-signed with the Trail Blazers last summer on a five-year, $160 million contract, and he'll be eligible to be traded on Jan. 15 – four days from now.
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In a recent article, Bleacher Report proposed this hypothetical Mavs-Blazers trade to get our gears turning a little bit: Mavs receive: Jerami Grant. Blazers receive: Richaun Holmes, Maxi Kleber, Olivier-Maxence Prosper, 2026 first-round pick (top-six protected), 2028 first-round pick swap (top-eight protected).
There are a few different ways to look at this trade idea. On one hand, the Mavs would be getting a significant power-forward upgrade with Grant while also getting off Richaun Holmes and Maxi Kleber's contracts. On the other hand, Dallas would essentially be giving up two first-round picks and one pick swap, given that O-Max Prosper was the No. 24 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
Although the Mavs wouldn't have to worry about having to re-sign Grant in free agency the way they would with Siakam, that kind of price still might be too much to get the Dallas front office to pull the trigger. If you take Prosper or the 2026 first-round pick out of the deal and replace one of those with say, second-year guard Jaden Hardy, then that seems more reasonable from Dallas' end.
In 32 games for the Trail Blazers, Grant is averaging 21.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists while shooting 46.1 percent from the field, including 41.7 percent from deep. He will turn 30 years old in March, but he still has a lot of good basketball ahead of him, and he'd be an excellent fit alongside Doncic and Irving as the Mavs try to elevate themselves to being title contenders.
