The Portland Trail Blazers were in talks with the Los Angeles Lakers to trade Jerami Grant for multiple first-round picks, but the deal stalled when Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka backed out ¹. Here are some key points about the situation:
– *The Lakers’ interest*: The Lakers are interested in trading for Grant, but they are hesitant to give up more than one first-round pick ¹.
– *The Trail Blazers’ demands*: The Trail Blazers want at least two first-round draft picks in any deal for Grant ².
– *Grant’s value*: Grant had a decent season with the Trail Blazers, averaging 21.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists ².
– *The Lakers’ concerns*: The Lakers are worried about giving up future assets in this deal, as they want to be in a position to rebuild once the LeBron James era ends ².
– *The current situation*: The two sides are still talking, but the deal has not been finalized ¹.
sense from the Lakers’ side of the equation. If Portland can extract one or both of L.A.’s two movable future first round draft picks, adding Russell back might be a worthwhile endeavor.
From a Portland perspective, of course, Russell doesn’t make a lot of present-day sense. If his addition were to guarantee both future Lakers picks, ideally with light protections (perhaps top-10 lottery protections), it might be worth making.
Grant is owed $29.8 million in 2024-25. Russell makes $18.7 million next season, so his money alone along with just a pair of future picks wouldn’t be enough to get a deal done for a capped-out Blazers squad. Los Angeles would still need to throw in the contract of a Gabe Vincent or Jarred Vanderbilt to make the money work.
In terms of fit and upside, combo forward Rui Hachimura, a much more intriguing young player with a decent jumper who can defend both power forwards and centers, would be a better fit for the Trail Blazers. However, he’s actually a valuable player, while Russell is more of a salary-matching piece (a decent regular season player who consistently crumbles in the postseason on both ends). His addition would probably compel the Lakers to amend their pick protections, perhaps making both assets entirely lottery-protected.
Would Hachimura be worth that kind of investment for the Trail Blazers? There’s no way Austin Reaves is on the table. In terms of that second piece, Vanderbilt is a more intriguing asset, albeit a win-now one, so he’d make more sense to acquire, in order to be flipped again.
Moving Jerami Grant for two future lottery-protected draft picks, Rui Hachimura, and Jarred Vanderbilt (assuming Vanderbilt is moved later) could be a great scenario for L.A.
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