Portland Trail Blazers GM Joe Cronin is doing his best Troy Weaver impersonation in conducting a dramatic overhaul of the roster, razing out bad fits and bad contracts (and, it should be noted, good players) in an attempt to right the ship in Portland.
The Blazers are reportedly still one of the teams talking to the Detroit Pistons about forward Jerami Grant. However, I must admit that at this point it seems like Grant is not going anywhere — not until the offseason if at all. The teams looking for impact players have mostly already made their moves, and it seems like nobody is willing to meet Detroit’s high asking price.
There are indications the plan is to build around Lillard with a clean slate, and the Blazers certainly have enough cap room to make an impact via trades and free agency.
The plan as laid out by Adrian Wojnarowksi:
Portland's plan is to fully reshape roster around Damian Lillard now. Portland created a $21M trade exception today, potentially $60M in salary cap space this summer, multiple draft picks and assets via Pels and Clippers trades. Plan is to pursue high-end talent now, not retreat.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2022
That is all pure speculation, to be sure, but Grant does seem like the kind of player who would fit in well alongside Dame, coach Chauncey Billups and fit in with the fan base in Portland. It would also set up the Blazers for investing in Grant with a new contract and still have roster balance and a reasonable amount of flexibility,
Will it happen? Probably not. But there is at least a hint of a match to be made between the two franchises.
Consider this your open thread for all upcoming deals and rumors. If there is any significant Pistons rumor, trust that it will probably get its own story posted in short order. For everything else, this is your playground.
Loading comments...