Trail Blazers Reporter Claims Lakers Almost Traded Two First-Round Picks For Jerami Grant

Matt Levine | Jul 27, 2024

The Los Angeles Lakers have been linked with Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant for some time now, with this summer ramping things up. The Lakers have been looking for ways to upgrade the roster and Grant could give them a true three-and-D style of player to work with.

Part of the hold-up between the two sides is that the Trail Blazers have been asking for two first-round picks for Grant while the Lakers have been hesitant to make it happen. But apparently, the two sides almost agreed on a deal.

According to Trail Blazers reporter Danny Marang, the two teams almost came together with a deal that would have sent Grant to Los Angeles in exchange for the two first-round picks. This was mentioned during an episode of Jacked Ramsays: A Portland Trail Blazers Podcast.

“As I understand it, Klutch was hoping to help facilitate a deal there and they got the Lakers to say, yeah they’d be willing to trade two ones for Jerami and then when it came time to do it, Pelinka balked.”

Grant's agent Rich Paul also represents LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the Lakers so it makes sense why he may want him in Los Angeles. But the contract of Grant is also a reason why the Lakers haven't given up the two firsts for him.

The veteran forward is scheduled to make $29.7 million this season and his contract goes up each year for the duration. With the new CBA now in place, it makes life much tougher for teams to build well-rounded rosters with more than two players making high amounts of money.

Grant could very much help the Lakers but it's smart of the team to try to wait things out. There is a lot of time between the start of the season and now so it's possible that Portland drops the asking price a little to get themselves off the contract of Grant.

More Lakers: Draymond Green Comes to Aid of Lakers' Bronny James Following Anonymous Criticism