Jerami Grant Trade Rumors: Blazers Pursuing Pistons Forward After CJ McCollum Deal
The Portland Trail Blazers are pursuing a trade for Detroit Pistons forward Jerami Grant ahead of Thursday's deadline, according to B/R's Jake Fischer.
The Blazers have completely revamped their roster over the past week, jettisoning CJ McCollum, Norman Powell, Robert Covington and Larry Nance Jr. in a pair of blockbuster trades.
While conventional wisdom was that Damian Lillard would be next on the chopping block—either by Thursday or during the offseason—it's looking increasingly like this is a retooling, rather than rebuilding, effort.
The Blazers could have upward of $60 million in cap space this summer and acquired a $21 million trade exception as part of the trade that sent McCollum and Nance to the New Orleans Pelicans, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Grant's $20 million salary could fit into that exception, which would expire if the Blazers choose to go into this summer operating as an under-the-cap team. Acquiring Grant now would take a chunk out of the Blazers' cap room over the summer but potentially allow them to move forward with a clearer picture of their future.
As for whether it would be a prudent move, that's a little more questionable. Grant has proved capable of handling a larger workload during his two seasons in Detroit, but it hasn't translated to winning basketball. The Pistons are 12-41 this season and finished with the NBA's second-worst record last season with Grant as their leading scorer.
While it's clear a change was needed, subbing out McCollum for Grant as Lillard's second in command isn't going to make the Blazers a championship contender. McCollum and Grant are essentially on the same good-but-not-great plane as a player; McCollum is a better shooter and Grant is a better defender, but there's not an overwhelming difference in tiers between the two.
This would be the type of wheel-spinning trade front offices tend to make when they can't admit it's time a full-scale rebuild is necessary. Taking one last shot at creating a contender is admirable, but Portland has no history of attracting top free agents and the team lacks assets to make a trade for a true All-Star.
Adding players like Grant is a recipe for swapping out one first-round exit core for a different first-round exit core.
