NBA Report: Lakers signing of Jerami Grant for $65 million from Blazers… See More…
The Portland Trail Blazers have been the busiest team in the NBA this summer. They aren’t finished yet. Sure, trading Damian Lillard was the most important task for this team. Mission accomplished. Still, there are a lot of unanswered questions for this team.
Largely, that’s by design. The Blazers knew they’d likely move Malcolm Brogdon when they acquired him. Meanwhile, the team seems more open to experimenting with Deandre Ayton and Robert Williams III.
Still, Williams III feels like a good candidate to be moved throughout the year as well. The Blazers know that building a roster is a work in progress. With that said, they’ve found themselves in an unexpected situation regarding Jerami Grant.
When the team extended Grant, they probably expected to pair him with Lillard. Lillard is gone, but Grant remains. Portland can’t move him until closer to the deadline, having just extended him. When he’s eligible to be traded, could they send him to the Los Angeles Lakers?
By contrast, the Lakers were somewhat quiet. They weren’t totally inactive. The Lakers extended key players like Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell, and Jarred Vanderbilt. They added some new pieces like Vincent, Cam Reddish, Jaxson Hayes, and Taurean Prince. Still, the Lakers haven’t exactly made a splash.
It’s worth noting that most of the Lakers’ acquisitions have been young players. This isn’t how we expect a contending team to behave. What do the Lakers have planned? Are they preparing for a future without LeBron James?
