The Los Angeles Lakers are limited in their ability to add more help via trade. One of the few options they could consider is Portland Trail Blazers wing Jerami Grant, and ESPN’s Zach Lowe hinted that a trade may be coming.
On the July 26 episode of “The Lowe Post,” Lowe strongly hinted that the Lakers trading for Grant is inevitable.
“Should we start printing the Jerami Grant-Lakers jerseys, by the way?” Lowe asked. “Should we just do it now? I think… I might order one.”
At 30 years old, Grant does not have much of a place on the rebuilding Trail Blazers long-term. He will enter the second year of a five-year, $160 million contract. The Lakers have players on contracts to match, like D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, and Jarred Vanderbilt. What remains in question is what the Trail Blazers will want in return for Grant.
Since they are under the NBA’s second tax apron, they can combine the contracts to match Grant’s in a trade. Grant has averaged 20 points a game for the last four seasons, but he’s never made an All-Star team. He has also played for a playoff contender, like when he played for the Denver Nuggets when they made their Western Conference Finals run in 2020.
Trail Blazers Have Steep Price for Jerami Grant: Exec
A Western Conference executive told Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveney what Grant’s appeal is. However, he also explained the problem with acquiring him.
“Jerami Grant can play, he is a shooter, he is a good, active defender when he is engaged, he is going to do a lot of things that help your team. But he is a third option. He has some big numbers the last few years, but he has done it on terrible teams. No one is going to make a big trade for a guy who gives you 20 (points) on a bad team and 13 (points) on a good one,” the exec told Deveney in a July 7 story.
The exec added further that the problem is how expensive Grant is.
“Not with his contract. He is going to make $30 (million) next year. $32 the year after that. Then he has two more years. You can’t pay your third option $34, 35 million. If Portland wants the Lakers, the Heat, any of these teams to take him, they’ve got to recognize that.”
Trail Blazers Don’t Want D’Angelo Russell for Jerami Grant
Another problem with the possible Grant-Lakers trade is who the Trail Blazers want back. Though Grant could be on the table, The Athletic’s Jovan Buha explained why Portland does not want Russell back in a trade.
“I’ve heard Portland doesn’t want D-Lo because they have a million guards anyway,” Buha said on his podcast “Buha’s Block” on July 26. “So, it just doesn’t really make sense for them.”
Russell’s appeal in a trade is that his contract will expire in 2025. However, he, too, would not have much of a place with the Trail Blazers. There is a scenario where the Lakers and Trail Blazers could get more teams involved. Russell would fit better on a team trying to win, like the Lakers. However, it’s clear they want more help.
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