Jerami Grant discusses upcoming free agency, Blazers' success

Over the offseason, the Portland Trail Blazers acquired Jerami Grant from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for a 2025 first-round pick, 2025 second-round pick, 2026 second-round pick and the draft rights to Gabriele Procida. 

Through 20 games, Grant is averaging 21.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.8 threes, 0.9 blocks and 0.8 steals, while shooing 47.5% from the field, 48.2% from three and 76.2% from the free-throw line.

When asked about his upcoming unrestricted free agency, Grant indicated that he's happy in Portland.

“I’m satisfied right now,” Grant told HoopsHype's Michael Scotto. “I’m really happy with what we’re doing. We’ll just talk about it when it comes.”

Damian Lillard and Chauncey Billups had high praise for the 28-year-old forward.

“I think he’s added a layer to our team on both ends of the floor,” Lillard told HoopsHype. “A lot of times, he’s taking the toughest matchup defensively. He’s using his size, length and athleticism to be disruptive and give guys like Anfernee [Simons] and myself the opportunity to play off the ball and not wear ourselves out on the defensive end of the floor every possession and then have to go score and make plays as much as we do offensively. On offense, he’s been able to score in isolation, transition, hit catch-and-shoot threes, and post up. He’s doing so many different things for us on both ends of the floor. He’s so versatile. It’s made us a much better team having him.”

“He has this very infectious personality,” Billups added. “He’s smiling all the time. He’s this really kind-spirited dude. He’s always positive, no matter if we won or lost. His demeanor never changes. He’s quickly become one of the leaders of our group.”

Portland is currently 11-9, which is the sixth-best record in the Western Conference. The Blazers currently boast the NBA's 14th-best offense (scoring 109.9 points per 100 possessions) and 17th-best defense (allowing 110.3 points per 100 possessions).

“This is an extremely talented group of guys,” Grant said. “It’s a mix of young and older guys that are veterans who know how to play. It’s a good fit for me. I think we can be really good. What we have, we can win with for sure. We’ve got a lot of talented players who can put the ball in the basket. We’ve got a lot of defenders. We’ve got rebounders. We’ve got a bit of everything. I think we can be really good. We are good now. We can be a lot better, so I’m looking forward to it.”