Trail Blazers have a Deni Avdija reason to make a $70 million trade

Billy Heyen

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Trail Blazers have a Deni Avdija reason to make a $70 million trade image

The Portland Trail Blazers have to be considering what Deni Avdija's next contract looks like.

And to get that right, they may need to trade away other salary sooner rather than later.

That's what ESPN's Kevin Pelton has explained in a new article ahead of the February trade deadline. He thinks Jerami Grant may have to go.

"After a lost 2024-25 campaign in which he played just 47 games, Grant has performed well enough this season (20.0 PPG on 38.9% 3-point shooting) that teams could be willing to take on the two years and $70 million remaining on his contract," Pelton writes. "The question instead is whether Portland would be willing to move Grant for cap flexibility and/or draft picks."

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Grant, who has evolved into a talented shooter and scorer from his days as an athletic, defensive wing at Syracuse, costs plenty. But a contender that can make the money work would likely find a way that he's useful.

For Portland, subtracting Grant would give them better flexibility to get Avdija's future deal right and keep their star in town for a while.

"The Blazers are comfortably in the play-in mix, and Grant's shooting is an important part of the rotation," Pelton writes. "At the same time, creating cap space this offseason would give Portland the ability to save up for renegotiating Deni Avdija's contract simultaneously with a long-term extension. Given Avdija's importance and that a conventional extension is unrealistic, that's worth exploring."

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Avdija's continued emergence may force Portland into a tough call involving Grant. But it might be the move they have to make.

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Contributing Writer