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The Milwaukee Bucks have had a productive offseason, but a major shakeup could improve their title chances. One player who could help them is Portland Trail Blazers wing Jerami Grant. Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz proposed a trade that would send Grant to the Bucks, but it would come at great cost.
Swartz proposed the following trade between the Bucks, Trail Blazers, and Golden State Warriors in an August 12 story.
Bucks Receive: Grant
Warriors Receive: Khris Middleton
Trail Blazers Receive: Moses Moody, Andrew Wiggins
Swartz explained why Grant has more appeal currently than Middleton does on the Bucks.
“Khris Middleton is a better all-around player than Jerami Grant, but he’s also struggled to stay healthy in recent years and had arthroscopic surgeries on both ankles this offseason. If the Bucks have any hesitations about Middleton’s ability to stay on the court, swapping him for Grant (who’s also two years younger) makes sense.”
Swartz then outlined why Grant would fit well with the Bucks’ starting five.
“A starting five of Damian Lillard, Gary Trent Jr., Grant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Brook Lopez would remain one of the best in the East, as Grant averaged 21.0 points and made 40.2 percent of his threes last season. Lillard and Grant already carry a year of experience together from their 2022-23 season with the Blazers.”
Grant will enter the second year of a five-year, $160 million contract.
Trail Blazers Will Try to Trade Jerami Grant
If the Bucks were to consider a trade like this, Grant may not be a pipedream for them. The Oregonian’s Aaron Fentress reported that the Trail Blazers will try to trade Grant in the midst of their rebuild.
“I would be surprised if Jerami or Anfernee Simons, that one of the two is not moved. I was told that that’s definitely the goal, that one of the two would probably be gone before training camp,” Fentress said on Sactown Sports 1140. “Both being gone might be different. They obviously have time. They can wait until the trade deadline and see if someone else will offer more.”
Grant is expensive, but he has proven himself useful on teams trying to win in the past. He helped the Denver Nuggets reach the Western Conference Finals in 2020. He was more of a role player for them than a focal point. On the Bucks, he’d be a role player again, but the Bucks have plenty of star power with Lillard and Antetokounmpo.
Jerami Grant Has Familiarity With Damian Lillard
Grant is a long wing who can play multiple positions when he’s on the floor. He would help plenty of teams who need two-way help on the perimeter. However, he can help the Bucks even more on paper because he has played with Lillard in the past.
Even though they only played one year together in Portland, Lillard and Grant know how to play together. They didn’t accomplish much when they played together, but that familiarity could benefit the Bucks.
Add Trent, who also played with Lillard in Portland, and the Bucks may very well get a better performance out of Lillard since he’ll play with player who he has played with before.
