Blazers Rumors: Insider Provides Update on Jerami Grant Trade

Mar 7, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant (9) drives to the basket as Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams (6) defends during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

With the growth of forwards Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara likely necessitating a bench move for oft-hurt former starting power forward Jerami Grant, one couldn't be faulted for wondering why the Portland Trail Blazers haven't moved the 31-year-old vet this summer.

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Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report reveals that a possible Grant trade is not happening any time soon, or at least not according to his sources.

"I haven't heard that anything is close on a Grant trade. I've thought all summer that his contract was going to be tough to move without attaching draft capital, which they don't want to do," Highkin writes. "Under the new CBA, it's both logistically harder to move big salaries and harder to find teams wanting to take them on. Between that and Grant, by his own admission, having a down season last year, it's not surprising that he's still on the roster as of now, even if it's not ideal."

Grant, who's netting $32 million this year, won't look particularly movable coming off the bench for Portland.

Highkin contends that Grant hasn't meritocratically earned the right to start, so the only world in which he would be (ahem) granted that opportunity to kick off next season would be head coach Chauncey Billups nodding to his seniority and contract.

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The 6-foot-7 Syracuse product had his worst scoring performance in just 47 healthy games for Portland since his 2019-20 run with the Denver Nuggets, when he was fulfilling a far more supplemental role on a roster where the ball was mainly handled by stars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Grant is averaging 14.4 points on .373/.365/.849 shooting splits, 3.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.0 blocks and 0.9 steals a night.

Highkin contends that Avdija and Camara have earned their starting forward roles ahead of Grant.

"Will Grant be thrilled if it goes this way? Probably not. But he's not the kind of personality that's going to rock the boat or make it a problem," Highkin writes. "And the best way for him to better his situation is to buy into whatever role he gets, rebuild his value and make it easier for the Blazers to trade him to a situation where he may get to start more definitively."

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