Getty Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers’ level of interest in a potential trade for the likes of Dejounte Murray and Zach LaVine has been well-documented.
Their scope isn’t limited to just those players, though.
The Athletic’s Jovan Buha has named several other potential targets ahead of the trade deadline on February 8. Among them were Toronto Raptors guards Bruce Brown Jr. and Gary Trent Jr. — a Klutch Sports Group client — as well as Terry Rozier of the Charlotte Hornets.
Buha also mentioned Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant, another Klutch Sports client.
“Other names that have come up in talks with team and league personnel over the past two weeks include Portland’s Jerami Grant, Charlotte’s Terry Rozier, Toronto’s Gary Trent Jr. and Brooklyn’s Dorian Finney-Smith and Royce O’Neale,” Buha wrote on January 19. “Each player fills at least one of the Lakers’ three needs.”
Among the Lakers’ needs according to Buha, three-point shooting and “a two-way wing who slots in nicely next to [Lebron] James, [Anthony] Davis and [Austin] Reaves” fit Grant.
30 PTS (and counting) for JG 😮💨
Grant, 29, is averaging 21.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists this season.
He is also knocking down a career-high 40.9% of his threes while providing length on defense, especially in help. Grant was also a part of the Team USA squad that won gold at the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2020.
In the first year of a five-year, $160 million contract and playing for a rebuilding Blazers squad, Grant would seem like an ideal target ahead of the trade deadline.
Blazers Not Looking to Trade Jerami Grant
“Jerami Grant would represent an absolute difference-maker,” Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer wrote on January 17. “However, Portland is not expected to seriously entertain offers for Grant.”
What’s more, Grant isn’t pushing for a trade out of Portland either.
“You definitely see [the trade rumors],” Grant said, per The Rose Garden Report’s Sean Highkin on January 18. “But it’s not anything in my control. I’m cool here. I’m good with what I’m doing. Keep my head down and keep working, keep trying to help the young guys as much as I can. It’s not something you can do anything about, especially since I just signed a deal.”
Nice help from Jerami Grant on defense, Anfernee Simons makes them pay on the other end.
Grant re-upped with Portland this past offseason when it was believed the Blazers would keep All-Star point guard Damian Lillard. Instead, they traded the former face of the franchise to the Milwaukee Bucks and embarked on a rebuild.
The Blazers are 12-29 on the season and sit 14th in the Western Conference standings, 8.0 games back of 10th place and a spot in the Play-In Tournament.
“I’m here for as long as they want me,” Grant said.
Proposed Lakers Trade Lands Blazers’ Jerami Grant
Fischer’s caveat about Portland not “seriously” entertaining offers on Grant – as opposed to teammate Malcolm Brogdon – could mean the door is open for an offer being good enough to sway the Blazers.
If the Lakers believe Grant is a good fit, they could float something like this hypothetical offer to the Blazers.
Lakers get:
– Jerami Grant
Blazers get:
– Rui Hachimura
– Gabe Vincent
– 2029 first-round pick (top-10 protected)
This package would let the Blazers replace the veteran forward they are losing, though Hachimura is not the player that Grant is. He is in the first year of a three-year, $51 million contract and the Lakers want to keep him, per Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus on January 15.
He’s dealt with injuries this season, though, and has struggled over the last two games, including an 0-for-6 effort in the loss to the Nets on January 19.
Vincent has made five appearances this season, four of which were in October.
Their purpose in this hypothetical scenario is largely salary-matching fodder, as Buha notes they have “neutral-to-negative trade value”. Especially Vincent, with young Blazers guards Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons, and Shaedon Sharpe in addition to a veteran like Brogdon.
The key to this trade for the Lakers is the draft pick, which could appeal to the rebuilding Blazers.