Rumors: Blazers Not Interested In Lakers’ Guard Trade Talks

The Portland Trail Blazers have had a successful summer after trading the Washington Wizards for Deni Avdija and selecting UConn big man Donovan Clingan with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. However, they may not be done with their offseason moves. One of their key players, Anfernee Simons or Jerami Grant, could potentially be traded before the 2024-25 season starts.

Grant has been linked to the Los Angeles Lakers, and rumors have picked up after the Lakers missed out on multiple big-time names in both trades and free agency. The offseason has died down, and the Lakers’ options to find a third piece to pair with superstars Anthony Davis and LeBron James have dwindled, leaving Grant as one of the few realistic options remaining.

Jerami Grant-Lakers trade rumors heat up

On “The Lowe Post” podcast, ESPN’s Zach Lowe recently hinted at a Grant trade to the Lakers, saying, “Should we start printing the Jerami Grant-Lakers jerseys, by the way? Should we just do it now? I think we — I might order one.”

Blazers GM Joe Cronin has reportedly told the Lakers that the asking price for Grant is two first-round draft picks, according to Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report. Cronin has a reputation around the league for not budging much in trade discussions, which causes many of these trades to take longer than most anticipate.

It remains to be seen if the Lakers will ultimately agree to send two first-round picks to the Blazers for Grant. Still, one clear thing is that the Blazers have no interest in receiving point guard D’Angelo Russell as part of a trade package.

Blazers not interested in D’Angelo Russell

Jovan Buha of The Athletic reported the Blazers’ lack of interest in Russell on his “Buha’s Block” podcast, saying, “I’ve heard Portland doesn’t want D-Lo because they have a million guards anyway. So, it just doesn’t really make sense for them.”

The Blazers finally cleared their guard logjam by trading away veteran point guard Malcolm Brogdon. They seem focused on rebuilding around a backcourt of Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe. They could trade Anfernee Simons to give Scoot and Sharpe both starting roles. They aren’t going to add another guard who should play significant minutes like Russell, so their lack of interest in him is reasonable.

Who could the Blazers get besides D-Lo?

One important thing to note in any trade with the Lakers is that LeBron James took a slight pay cut, re-signing with Los Angeles on a two-year, $104 million deal (with a player option in the second year). He agreed to $2.65 million less than the maximum to keep the Lakers under the second apron; this means they can aggregate salaries in a Grant trade to make the deal work financially.

Since the Blazers reportedly aren’t interested in D-Lo, some contracts that could be on the move to match Grant’s (owed roughly $30 million next season) include Rui Hachimura ($17 million), Gabe Vincent ($11 million) and Jarred Vanderbilt ($10.7 million). Russell could still be included in a deal for Grant, but given Buha’s recent intel, D-Lo would likely have to be sent elsewhere in a multi-team deal.