Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant has been rumored as a potential option for the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason, but there is one Laker that is unlikely to go back to Portland in a potential deal.
According to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha, the Blazers do not want guard D’Angelo Russell back in a Grant trade due to the plethora of guards they already have on the roster.
“I’ve heard Portland doesn’t want D-Lo because they have a million guards anyway,” Buha said. “So, it just doesn’t really make sense for them.”
Now, it’s possible that if the Lakers and Blazers make a deal that involves a third team that Russell could be one of the pieces shipped out. However, if the two teams only deal with each other in a Grant trade, Russell is likely to remain a Laker based on this report.
Also, since Grant is a forward, it may be advantageous for the Lakers to keep Russell on the roster rather than lose a key guard without getting a starting-caliber one back.
“So, if you’re keeping D-Lo out and you – of course the Lakers would rather keep D-Lo out in this configuration – I think one first makes the most sense,” Buha said of a potential Grant deal.
Grant is on a long-term deal that goes through the 2026-27 season and features a player option for the 2027-28 campaign. So, the Lakers would need to be comfortable with taking on the long-term financial burden in any Grant deal, which may make them wary about how much draft capital they’re truly willing to give up.
Even though Russell is coming off a solid regular season in the 2023-24 campaign, he doesn’t really make much sense for a rebuilding Portland team.
The Blazers already have guard Anfernee Simons under contract, and the Blazers have drafted two guards recently in former No. 3 overall pick Scoot Henderson and former lottery pick Shaedon Sharpe.
If Portland wants to become a contender in the West again, it needs to allow those players to develop rather than blocking them with a player like Russell.
During the 2023-24 season, Russell averaged 18.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game while shooting 45.6 percent from the field and 41.5 percent from 3-point range.
He’ll likely have an important role with the Lakers if he’s on the roster when the 2024-25 regular season begins this fall.
