The Portland Trail Blazers were one of the most active teams in the NBA ahead of the 2022 NBA trade deadline. Many thought they would be sellers, but the extent to which they went was surprising to see.
Portland unloaded their biggest long-term contracts, clearing as much salary cap space as possible. Norman Powell, who signed a five-year deal in free agency, was traded halfway through the first season of that deal. CJ McCollum, the long-term building block in the backcourt with Damian Lillard, was also dealt.
The Trail Blazers now have a ton of money to spend in free agency and can create even more with players such as Josh Hart and Eric Bledsoe being on non-guaranteed and partially guaranteed deals. They acquired from draft capital as well, so Portland will be flipping the switch, turning into buyers this offseason.
They will be linked to a ton of players this offseason as the roster is essentially a clean slate. Building around Lillard is the goal unless he changes course and requests a trade. But, it would be hard to imagine that the Blazers would have gone to those lengths at the trade deadline if Lillard wasn’t on board with the plan.
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One of the players that the Portland Trail Blazers are reportedly going to be zeroing in on this offseason is Jerami Grant of the Detroit Pistons. Portland’s plans have been altered because of the success that the New Orleans Pelicans have found in the postseason. It looked as if the Trail Blazers would have two lottery picks at their disposal this offseason, but that is no longer the case.
“That was a big deal to them,” said a Western Conference official. “The expectation was certainly, ‘Once we get this pick, we’ll turn it into someone. We’ll overpay to get someone.’” Grant seemed to be at the top of their list. He and Lillard have a relationship dating back to their days with Team USA, and they share an interest in playing together once again, sources said.
Jerami Grant was a hot commodity on the rumor mill leading up to the deadline, but Detroit decided to hold onto him and will likely field a lot of calls during draft season. His value is quite high as a versatile forward that can fill numerous roles for a team.
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Grant has shown with the Detroit Pistons that he is capable of carrying the load as a go-to scorer, something he wanted to maintain. While Lillard will be the first option, he would certainly be the No. 2 behind him.
His defense is what would appeal to the Trail Blazers the most as they have struggled on that end of the court. Grant can be their ace, and combined with Josh Hart, should he be retained, would give the Trail Blazers a strong duo to build their schemes around on that end of the court.
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But, the Portland Trail Blazers’ plans to acquire Jerami Grant will have to be adjusted because they will not be getting a second lottery pick. That will complicate things, as they might have to dip into future draft capital to get a deal done.
