Folks, as the calendar turns, it can only mean one thing: our annual Bucks trade candidate series is back! Stay tuned over the coming weeks as the Brew Hoop team breaks down various trade targets for the Bucks, including but not limited to: Zach LaVine, Michael Porter Jr., Andrew Wiggins, Corey Kispert, Dejounte Murray, Anfernee Simons, and Malik Monk. Today, though, we delve deep into Blazers forward Jerami Grant and analyse his potential fit with the Bucks.
The Player
Jerami Grant, 31, 6’7”, 213 lb, forward
Season averages: 20.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.7 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.6 BPG, .438/.395/.863
Jerami Grant is a veteran who has been around the block, having played a plethora of roles in his 12-year career. Grant began his time in the NBA as a defensive-focused junkyard dog who shot the ball much less than he does now, failing to average double digits until his sixth year in the association. However, he contributed on the other end, averaging 1.7 stocks during this period. It was in his second year with the OKC Thunder that he broke out, nearly doubling his attempts and shooting nearly 40% from three—he has shot 38% from deep ever since.
Grant then moved into a bona fide primary role on a (bad) Pistons team in 2019–20, piercing the 20 PPG mark for the first time in his career. After another season in the Motor City, he was traded to the Blazers ahead of the 2022–23 season, where he was brought in (foolishly, you might say) to be something of a second banana to our old friend Damian Lillard. The Blazers even signed JG to a five-year, $160m extension in 2023 in a list-ditch effort to convince Lillard to stay in PDX. Of course, Lillard asked out not long after that to come to
Miami Milwaukee, leaving the Blazers holding the proverbial (and literal) bag.
Which brings us to where we are now. Ironically, the Bucks are reportedly looking to improve their team in a bid to convince their superstar to stay, just like the Blazers did. And even more ironically, they might be looking to do so with the
exact same player:
“As for what the Bucks’ next steps are, general manager Jon Horst is expected to make a big move to add talent around Giannis and starting center Myles Turner, league sources said. At the NBA G League Showcase in Orlando, the one name that was floated around the most for the Bucks was Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant.” – Brett Siegel, Clutch Points.
The Trade
To get up to Grant’s $32m number, Bobby Portis’ and Kyle Kuzma’s contracts basically must be in the deal (update: apparently this is not correct and Milwaukee could make this trade work financially by replacing Portis with any minimum player; my apologies). From there, it’s just about pick semantics. The Grant contract was bad when they signed it, and it still looks that way with another two years to go (including his player option) after this season ends. In the current cap environment, having a contract that large for a player who simply isn’t worth it can be incredibly hindering. Thus, the Bucks would actually be doing the Blazers a favour by taking on this contract and should be compensated for doing so. A first-round pick is likely not happening, but a few seconds should suffice:
On the other hand, the Blazers get a decent Grant facsimile in Kyle Kuzma (whose contract expires after next season) and a spacing big in Bobby Portis, who would help stretch the floor and unclog their oft-sluggish offence. Portis, who struggles on defence, would also be insulated by Portland’s slew of talented wing defenders. But let’s be honest, the primary appeal of this deal is that it would allow Portland to split Grant’s big contract into multiple smaller ones, increasing their cap flexibility.
I should note that the Blazers would need to waive someone from their roster to accommodate this deal because they currently have 15 standard contracts on their books—Duop Reath seems an obvious candidate. The good news is they would still be $4.1m underneath their hard cap.
The Fit
Look, I’m not going to argue that Jerami Grant’s fit on the Bucks is perfect (or even good). The Bucks would run into the same problem they had with Kyle Kuzma: shoehorning a power forward into the small forward position because Giannis occupies that spot. Now, Grant (36.5%)
is a better career three-point shooter than Kuzma (33.3%), which makes him
somewhat more positionally malleable, I suppose, but the difference is so insignificant that I’m not sure it matters. Crucially, I also don’t think the Bucks could get away with bringing Grant off the bench the way they do with Kuzma because of politics, so he’d be the full-time starting SF.
Let’s explore the other parts of Jerami Grant’s game. One thing that may surprise folks is that, despite Grant’s size and length, the dude is allergic to rebounding! For his career, he averages a measly 3.9 RPG. To Grant’s credit, he has improved marginally as a passer as his role has expanded. Since arriving in Detroit, he has averaged 2.5 APG, up from 1.1 prior to that. Now, in the grand scheme of things, that’s nothing to write home about; you’d hope your primary option with a high usage rate would show at least
some passing chops. Additionally, along with those 2.5 APG, Grant has also averaged 1.9 turnovers per contest, making that element of his game mostly a wash.
Having not watched a tonne of Blazers basketball, I can’t speak much to Grant’s defensive ability… which is why I turned to the always credible Blazers Reddit page for answers! From what Portland fans are saying, he’s not too dissimilar to Kuzma on D: not a pushover, but not a difference-maker either:
“He should never be your point of attack defender, you’d need someone different to hound the other team’s best. However, he adds a lot off ball, he’s smart, his lankiness helps clog passing lanes, and he makes decent rotations. He won’t make a bad defense good, but he’ll make a good defense better.”
In conclusion, while I think there are certain scenarios in which Jerami Grant could help this team, I don’t think it’s worth taking him (and his contract) on—even with draft pick compensation. Grant has been known as something of an empty-calories operator in his various stops, and I can’t say he’d be much different in Milwaukee.
So, what are your thoughts on Grant? Is the juice worth the squeeze? Am I too low on the Blazers forward? Are there any other players you have your eye on? Let us know who to look at next!
