Jerami Grant Has Been Traded To The Portland Trail Blazers
According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Detroit Pistons are trading power forward Jerami Grant to the Portland Trail Blazers. In return, Detroit will receive the Milwaukee Bucks’ 2025 first-round pick, a 2022 second-round pick swap that moves Detroit up from 46 to 36, a 2025 second-round pick from Portland, and a 2026 second-round pick. The 2026 pick will be the more favorable choice between Portland and New Orleans’ second-round pick.
This trade adds another piece to a Trail Blazers team that is looking to build a contending roster around Damian Lillard. Grant will come to Portland and will immediately start at the power forward spot. In Portland, Grant will help space the floor while being a solid second option to Lillard.
In 2021, Grant was only able to play in 47 games, but he was productive when healthy. With the Pistons, Grant averaged 19.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.4 assists while shooting 35% from behind the arc.
For the Blazers, they have to give up several future picks, but they are probably ecstatic that they were able to add Grant while holding on to the seventh overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
For salary cap purposes, Grant will fit into Portland’s $21 million dollar trade exception, therefore Detroit does not have to take in any salary in this deal.
On the Pistons’ half of the deal, the return is slightly underwhelming. Although they received a decent collection of picks, they were unable to add a first-round pick in this year’s draft. The Pistons do owe a future first to the Thunder, and that could come due around 2024 or 2025. The addition of the Bucks’ 2025 first-round pick will ease the potential loss of a first-round pick.
The Pistons’ main reward for trading Grant will be their cap flexibility. According to Spotrac, the Pistons were about $5 million over the salary cap prior to moving Grant. After the trade, the Pistons will be about $15 million under. To pair with that, Marvin Bagley currently has a $28 million cap hold. In total, the Pistons have about $43 million to spend this year in free agency.
