Blazers Acquire Forward Jerami Grant In Trade With Pistons

PORTLAND, OR —On the eve of Thursday's NBA Draft, the Portland Trail Blazers acquired forward Jerami Grant in a trade from the Detroit Pistons for a protected 2025 first-round pick and other draft assets, ESPN reported on Wednesday.

Grant, the son of former Blazers forward Harvey Grant, played on the Gold Medal-winning U.S. Olympic team with new Blazers teammate Damian Lillard last summer. The 6-foot-8 Grant, an eight-year veteran, averaged 19.2 points and 3.5 rebounds in 47 games for the Pistons last season.

After playing collegiately at Syracuse, Grant was a second-round draft pick of the Philadelphia 76ers in 2014. He played in Philadelphia and Oklahoma City before becoming a breakout star in the NBA Bubble with the Denver Nuggets in 2020.

He then signed a three-year, $60 million deal with the Pistons in 2020.

According to ESPN, Portland will absorb Grant's $21 million salary this coming season using a trade exception. The 28-year-old is in the final year of his contract, but is eligible to sign a four-year, $112 million extension in December.

Trading Grant frees up $43 million in salary-cap space for the Pistons to pursue free agents.

The trade also involves the Blazers sending Milwaukee's 2025 first-round pick to Detroit, which Portland acquired last year from the New Orleans Pelicans in the CJ McCollum trade.

Additionally, the trade includes Detroit and Portland swapping second-round picks in Thursday's draft, with the Pistons getting the No. 36 pick from the Blazers, who will get the No. 46 pick. Plus, the Pistons will receive a 2025 second-round pick from the Blazers and a 2026 second-round pick.

Dave Deckard, who covers the Blazers for BlazersEdge.com, said the trade could be a "relative steal," for the Blazers.

"Assuming the Blazers are willing to pay Grant and he lasts more than a year, they just acquired a defensive-minded, scoring-ready, veteran forward without burning their best trade asset (Thursday's No. 7 draft pick) in the offseason," Deckard wrote.

Deckard added: "This could go wrong if Grant is chronically injured or if he only plays for a year in Portland. If neither of those things happen, you take your chances, spin the wheel, and call it fair. The cost is low.

"Even at a low-low price, Grant is not enough, by himself, to turn Portland's fortunes around. He's a good first step, one that will likely appeal to fans and Damian Lillard alike."