The Portland Trail Blazers are an organization looking to add star pieces around Damian Lillard, hoping to get back to being a consistent threat in the Western Conference playoff race. A strong bet to re-sign Anfernee Simons, they also hold the seventh pick in the 2022 NBA Draft on June 23. Another option is to combine a collection of trade assets for an established veteran, such as Jerami Grant from the Detroit Pistons.
According to HoopsHype, some NBA executives are trying to gauge whether the Blazers will trade for Grant on draft night. The deal could be a simple swap, but here’s an idea of how the Jerami Grant trade to the Blazers could look.
Portland Trail Blazers willing to gamble long-term to win now
- Blazers get: Jerami Grant
- Pistons get: Seventh pick in 2022 NBA Draft
In most NBA trades, contract salaries have to match within 10% for the trade to work according to league rules. Not in this case.
Since the Blazers are well under the salary cap, they can afford to absorb Jerami Grant’s $20.9 million salary without sending out any contracts to the Pistons. The Blazers would then likely step to the negotiation table to get a long-term contract done with Grant that keeps their newly acquired power forward in Portland for a few more seasons.
A trade of this caliber would obviously be a gamble for the Blazers, consider that Damian Lillard was once the sixth pick himself, so that could be the type of talent they’re giving away for the 28-year-old Grant.
While Grant has turned into a polished scorer who averaged 20.9 points per game his past two seasons, he likely is what he is at this point. Is that really worth the seventh pick, which could turn into a star? Only so they can try and carve out a few more wins in the short term?
Related: Atlanta Hawks, Portland Trail Blazers talking blockbuster NBA Draft trade