Blazers’ Jerami Grant Amid Trade Rumors: ‘One Step At A Time’

It’s no secret that Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant is one of the hottest names spinning on the trade rumor mill.

So anytime Grant says or posts something to social media, it’s news.

That happened this week, as Grant posted some pictures of himself to Instagram, with a caption that read, “One step at a time.” In today’s world, that’s what is known as “cryptic.”

But the possibility remains that Grant was just posting something to post it — and it had nothing to do with all the trade rumors. Then again, it could mean something, too.

Grant has been linked to the Los Angeles Lakers and several others — though the Blazers seem to have set a high price. According to one report, Portland wants at least two first-round draft picks for Grant.

For the record, he is represented by Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group, the agent whose client list also includes Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

At any rate, Grant is set to make $29.8 million next season after signing a five-year, $160 million contract with the Blazers last July.

Grant, 30, appeared in 54 games for the Blazers in 2023-24. He averaged 21.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.6 blocks while shooting 45.1% from the field, 40.2% on 3-pointers and 81.7% from the free-throw line.

The 30-year-old Grant has career averages of 13.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.7 steals and 1.0 blocks with the Philadelphia 76ers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons and Blazers.

“Portland could net themselves some strong future assets by moving Grant but it remains to be seen if a deal will come to fruition,” wrote Matt Levine of SI.com. “There is still some time between now and the start of training camp but there doesn’t seem to be much urgency to make a deal happen.”

(Ashish Mathur contributed to this report.)