Begley: Mavericks ‘Checked in’ with Blazers about Jerami Grant
Conor Bergin
2–3 minutes
With just three days until the NBA Draft, the NBA offseason is almost ready to shift from mock-draft mode to trade and free agency talks. The rumor mill already started churning today with some light reporting regarding Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant.
The Dallas Mavericks, among several other teams, have “checked in” with the Blazers about Grant’s situation, according to NBA insider Ian Begley of SportsNet New York.
As noted above, teams have tons of conversations about potential trades at this point in the league calendar. Several teams, including the Mavs, have checked in on Jerami Grant’s situation in Portland. Grant, 30, is entering the second season of a five-year, $160 million contract with the Trail Blazers. According to ESPN Insider Bobby Marks, the salary cap is expected to rise consistently over the next few seasons due to the NBA’s new broadcast rights deal. This is relevant because Grant’s deal will be viewed much differently in 2-3 years than it is today.
Begley did preface his report by noting that most trade conversations at this point in the NBA calendar “are ultimately irrelevant,” which took some air out of the balloon, or at least emphasized these are early, early trade talks.
Seemingly in response to this report, Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report wrote this on X, formerly known as Twitter:
When a report says that teams have “checked in” about a player that just means that they’ve asked what it would take to get them, not that they’ve had real talks.
Perhaps more notable than the Dallas-Grant trade speculation, Begley indicated Grant’s big contract will be viewed more favorably in a few years with the rising salary cap than it is currently. This echoed reporting from ESPN’s Kevin Pelton earlier in the week, who said the rising salary cap will make Grant’s contract look “far more palatable.” This more positive view on Grant’s contract seems to be the growing consensus, rather than the scary albatross some saw when the deal first went through.
