The path for the Orange alum remains intriguing going forward.
The 2024-25 NBA season continue to go by at a blink of an eye and the career for one former Syracuse Orange men’s basketball alumnus remains at an interesting inflection point.
After a very wild and active NBA trade deadline, Jerami Grant, the only former Syracuse men’s basketball player still solidly in the NBA, remains on the Portland Trail Blazers despite endless rumors he could be dealt. His NBA future and specifically the “what comes next?” part is quite interesting to look at, especially at this point of the NBA calendar.
Grant is averaging 14.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game in 43 games (all as a starter). That production is with a Portland team that is still 24-33 overall and 4.5 games out from the last Play-In Tournament spot in the Western Conference, but the Trail Blazers are playing better as of late.
But looking solely from the individual production, 2024-25 is one of Grant’s worst on paper in years.
Inefficiency on offense remains the biggest concern for Grant. He’s currently shooting 37.5% from the field as of Sunday — the lowest mark of his career since his rookie season in 2014-15. Of all the years where Grant boasted double-digits field goal attempts, the field goal percentage is about 5% worse than the next closest year.
Grant’s recent, superb three-point shooting efficiency is also slightly down compared to his past few seasons. In his first two seasons with Portland (2023 and 2024), Grant made over 40% of his threes on around five and a half attempts a game. This year, he’s down to 36.6% on 6.1 attempts per contest.
To clarify, that’s not to say Grant can’t help an NBA team, specifically a franchise looking to contend. Wing-sized NBA players who can switch multiple positions in theory, fit as a cog within the machine, make a few threes and can occasionally put the ball on the floor remain at a premium in the league.
The challenge, specifically for Grant’s NBA future, is the dollar amount he is owed.
Grant remains on a five-year, $160 million extension he signed with Portland in July 2023, which first kicked in last year. The contract will pay Grant at least through his age-32 season. He has a player option for 2027-28, which he could either decline or accept and become an unrestricted free agent in the 2028 offseason at age-34.
If you can believe it, the clock is striking to beyond the halfway point for Grant’s NBA career considering he turns 31 less than a month from now.
So, what comes next for Grant?
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While Grant is still in his early thirties, that decision looks like it will fall mainly on Portland. Grant appeared to be one of the favorites to be moved during this past trade deadline. Instead, a bunch of moves happened and none involved the Portland forward.
Considering Grant is under contract for up to three years behind this season (assuming he picks up his player option), the Blazers will at least consider moving him. Will they actually pull off the move is a different question. The team holds several other veteran players not on its current timeline that have likewise stayed with the team and not been dealt at all.
From the perspective of other teams, Grant still holds some value. The argument to bring him in includes three critical factors:
- The archetype: any legit contender or tier two contender looking for an immediately upgrade at forward. Again, that’s such a valuable necessity in today’s league where he (arguably) will never be seen as a “negative” contract.
- The money owed: speaking of his contract, while he could will be paid as high as over $36 million in 2027-28, his deal relative to the percentage of a team’s cap will continue to go down. This year, his amount owed (just under $30 million) is around 21.19% of the league cap according to Spotrac. In 2027-28, despite earning more money, it will be roughly 19.5% of the league cap.
- The timeline: Grant fits best for a contender as a do-it-all wing who doesn’t need to be the primary or secondary initiator. Considering both his age but also the 10 years of experience under his belt (including some in the playoffs), he could be that ready now piece for a good team.
Overall, a lot can change in Grant’s NBA career over the next half-decade. Likewise, he also just could ride out the remainder of his deal and go from there. Portland could also just keep him, whether that’s the right idea or not.
Grant will remain a Blazer, at least for now. One has to wonder if that could change at all this summer.