Tag: Jerami Grant

Should the Chicago Bulls target Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant?

For at least one league analyst, it is something that the Bulls at least ought to consider.

Should the Chicago Bulls target Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant to add an impact wing to their roster this coming 2024 NBA offseason? For at least one league analyst, it is something that the Bulls at least ought to consider. Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley recently proposed that Chicago look to trade for the Blazers star this summer in a recent article.

Noting the limited assets that the Bulls have to add talent to the team in terms of both contracts and draft picks, Buckley suggests Grant, whose large contract makes him a less-desirable (but very good) player for many teams on the trade market. “The second Damian Lillard decided he was done with the … Blazers, Grant immediately looked overpaid and out of place,” the B/R analyst writes.

“The 30-year-old isn’t quite finished with the first season of the five-year, $160 million deal he signed last summer. That’s a massive amount of money for someone who never quite made it to stardom.”

“Portland wouldn’t just give him away, but it would have to factor that contract into its expected return,” he adds. “So, a protected future first could potentially headline the package to get Grant if the Bulls had the right sweeteners in that exchange.”

“It would be a risk, but if Chicago really wants this core to breakthrough, a high-end, two-way forward like Grant might be its best hope for doing so.”

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Reaction: Defenseless Rockets stunned at buzzer by Blazers, Jerami Grant

In another sluggish defensive showing, Jerami Grant beat the regulation buzzer in Houston, and the Blazers went on to shock the Rockets in overtime.

HOUSTON — In the finale of a three-game homestand at Toyota Center, the Rockets suffered a difficult setback in Wednesday’s 137-131 overtime loss (box score) to the Portland Trail Blazers.

With the loss, Houston (20-23) missed a chance to pull into a virtual tie with Utah and the Los Angeles Lakers (both 22-23) for the No. 9 and No. 10 spots in the Western Conference standings, which would represent the final two spots in the 2023-24 play-in tournament.

The Rockets led by four points entering the game’s closing seconds, but Malcolm Brogdon and Jerami Grant each hit miraculous 3-pointers in the final 3.1 seconds of regulation (sandwiched around a pair of free throws by Aaron Holiday) to extend the game to overtime. Grant’s off-balance, off-glass heave from the right wing went in as time expired, and Portland pulled away in overtime.

Grant finished with 21 points and 9 assists for lowly Portland (13-30), which entered on night two of a road back-to-back. Houston, on the other hand, was at home and rested, having not played since Sunday.

The Rockets had plenty of standouts on offense, including:

  • Alperen Sengun: 30 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists; 11-of-17 shooting (64.7%), 1-of-2 on 3-pointers (50.0%), 7-of-8 on free throws (87.5%)
  • Jalen Green: 29 points, 3 assists; 12-of-24 shooting (50.0%), 2-of-7 on 3-pointers (28.6%), 3-of-4 on free throws (75.0%)
  • Fred VanVleet: 18 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocks; 8-of-17 shooting (47.1%), 2-of-10 on 3-pointers (20.0%)
  • Cam Whitmore: 12 points, 4 rebounds in 14 minutes; 5-of-10 shooting (50.0%), 2-of-6 on 3-pointers (33.3%)

As a team, the Rockets made 50-of-94 shots (53.2%) in one of their most efficient shooting nights all season. However, it didn’t matter thanks to Portland’s incredible shotmaking late in regulation and another lethargic defensive night by Houston, which ranks just 18th in defensive rating in January. That’s well below their No. 10 ranking for the 2023-24 season (it was once at No. 2), and it has a lot to do with why the slumping Rockets are 3-8 in their last 11 games.

The Rockets were again short-handed, with second-year forwards Jabari Smith Jr. (left ankle sprain) and Tari Eason (left lower leg injury management) still sidelined and Jae’Sean Tate (left wrist strain) missing his only his third game of the 2023-24 season.

Here’s our look at Wednesday’s highlights and postgame interviews, along with reaction by media members and fans. Next up for the Rockets is a road back-to-back, starting Friday night in Charlotte (10-31) and continuing to Brooklyn (17-26) on Saturday afternoon.

Trade rumor rankings: Dejounte Murray, Bruce Brown and more

HoopsHype ranks the 10 players who have appeared most often in trade rumors over the previous week.

This week saw another huge name come off the board on the NBA trade market as the Toronto Raptors dealt Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Bruce Brown, three-first round picks and more. That means the player who ranked No. 1 in our trade rumor rankings article last week is now off the board.

Don’t worry, though, as we still have plenty of interesting names to talk about on the NBA trade market.

Below, check out the 10 players who have appeared most often in trade rumors over the previous week, based on the number of appearances on our Trade Rumors page.

Lakers have six new trade targets, including Bruce Brown

The rumor mill is heating up when it comes to the Lakers and what they may look to do on the trade market.

With less than three weeks to go before the NBA’s trade deadline, the rumor mill is starting to heat up, especially for the Los Angeles Lakers.

There has been plenty of talk that they have been looking to acquire Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray. Reportedly, the two teams have talked about a potential deal, but the sticking point has been Atlanta’s desire to acquire Austin Reaves and the Lakers’ reluctance to give him up.

Los Angeles has also been rumored to have some interest in Tyus Jones and Collin Sexton, and indeed, it does want a speedy ball-handling guard who can score. But now, according to Jovan Buha, it has six additional targets (h/t Lakers Daily).

Via The Athletic:

“If the Toronto Raptors decide to move on from Bruce Brown Jr., the Lakers will have interest in acquiring him, according to team sources,” Jovan Buha wrote. “The Lakers coveted Brown last summer and believed they were the favorites to sign him using the team’s nontaxpayer midlevel exception before Indiana swooped in with a cap-space offer. (Los Angeles eventually signed (Gabe) Vincent with that exception.) Much like he was last summer, Brown will become one of the most coveted players on the trade market if he’s available. Of note: Because Brown was already traded from Indiana to Toronto in the (Pascal) Siakam deal, he cannot be combined with another player in a potential trade.

“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. Each player fills at least one of the Lakers’ three needs.”

While a speedy ball-handling guard appears to be the Lakers’ biggest priority on the trade market, a 3-and-D wing is another. Although Brown isn’t a great 3-point shooter, his defense and ability to score make him an attractive trade piece.

Grant would be an interesting get for the Lakers. He’s averaging 21.4 points a game and shooting 41.2% from 3-point range this season, but he isn’t a particularly good rebounder, and he does have a somewhat large contract that runs for at least three more seasons.

Projected starting lineup for the Trail Blazers after trading Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic

This is a fun team that suddenly has a lot of youth and draft picks.

The Portland Trail Blazers traded longtime star Damian Lillard and got quite a hefty package of players and picks back in return.

Portland also moved on from Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little and Keon Johnson. But in return, they received former No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton as their new big man of the future. In addition, they now have new role players such as Robert Williams and Malcolm Brogdon.

Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers have added three future first-round draft picks and two future pick swaps as part of the series of transactions.

The moves give an opportunity for 19-year-old guard Scoot Henderson to control the offense. Meanwhile, they also have increased opportunities for Shaedon Sharpe (20 years old) and Anfernee Simons (24 years old) as well.

Williams is expected to stay on the roster, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Brogdon, meanwhile, could potentially get traded but also has a chance to stay in Portland as a veteran leader.

Another player who may crack the starting five for the Trail Blazers is Matisse Thybulle. Both he and Williams are strong defenders who could potentially provide either depth off the bench or in the first unit.

Despite a surprisingly large contract offered to Jerami Grant during the offseason, Portland has an otherwise exciting young roster to build around for the future.

The 5 worst contracts from 2023 NBA free agency, including Dillon Brooks’ bizarre deal with Rockets

Well, these NBA deals don’t make a lot of sense.

The biggest players in 2023 NBA free agency have by and large been signed by new teams for a lot of money.

While the five players on this list of worst contracts aren’t bad NBA players by any measure, their deals feel given by teams making hasty decisions to force success that may not be guaranteed.

A lot of money went out during this year’s NBA free agency cycle, and we feel these five deals could have either been structured a lot differently or not signed at all.

This is all subjective, but some of these deals left us just befuddled.

NBA Twitter reacts to Jerami Grant’s $160M deal with Portland: ‘Dear God…’

Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to Jerami Grant’s 160M deal with the Blazers.

Jerami Grant is signing a huge five-year, $160 million deal to return to the Portland Trail Blazers, per Shams Charania.

As expected, NBA Twitter had mixed emotions regarding Portland’s decision to agree on a huge deal for Grant.

Jerami Grant free agency: His stock and potential destinations

HoopsHype is continuing its free agency series where we look at some of the best upcoming free agents. Here we check their stock, see what their next contract could look like, and weigh their odds of re-signing with their current team. Below we …

HoopsHype is continuing its free agency series where we look at some of the best upcoming free agents. Here we check their stock, see what their next contract could look like, and weigh their odds of re-signing with their current team.

Below we evaluate one of the top upcoming free agents, Jerami Grant. The nine-year veteran forward has had one of the league’s most significant yet gradual improvements over the years. He’s exceeded expectations over and over again and is on track to earn another big contract this offseason.

Which 5 players would make up an all ex-Philadelphia 76ers team?

Here are the five players who would make up a team of former Philadelphia 76ers players.

The Philadelphia 76ers have had some talented players come through the City of Brotherly Love over the years. Players who stepped up when they were called upon in order to help the Sixers win games before leaving for greener pastures.

HoopsHype put together a list of an all-ex team for all 30 teams in the league. Each team is compiled of former players at each position who played for the franchise and they discussed whether that ex-team could beat the current team that is now fielded.

The all ex-Sixers team is a bit of a doozy as it features some players who could certainly help them right now, per HoopsHype:

10 candidates to win the inaugural Jerry West Trophy for the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year Award

There are a lot of candidates from a team coached by Mr. Big Shot.

How do you define clutch when it comes to NBA basketball?

It’s a question that even NBA executives don’t know how to answer. But starting this year, voters around the league will have to come up with some measurements to define this word because the league announced that at the end of the season, they will begin handing out the Jerry West Trophy for the NBA Clutch Player of the Year.

Even if the idea of what it means to be a clutch basketball player feels immeasurable, someone is going to hoist the trophy at the end of this NBA campaign. So we wanted to look at who the top candidates are based on how the season has played out thus far.

For this story, we used resources from Inpredictable as well as PBPStats and NBA.com. You can learn more about Inprecictable’s Clutch Win Probability Added (clWPA) or how PBPStats defines high-leverage possessions.