When it comes to NBA content on ESPN, it's only a matter of time before even the most veteran reporters have to comment on the Los Angeles Lakers.
Call it a byproduct of being the most popular team in the NBA, call it a byproduct of the team being so gosh darn perplexing in their week-to-week activities, but when in a conversation about the less-heralded teams in the association, Zach Lowe still had to touch on the Lakers as part of a segment discussing the Western Conference with Tim McMahon, and in less than a minute, he delivered an absolute doozie.
“Should we start printing the Jerami Grant-Lakers jerseys, by the way?” Lowe asked. “Should we just do it now? I might order one.”
Now granted, was the veteran journalist joking? Maybe, he said it was an air of sarcasm in his voice, and McMahon joked along about the prospects of the Lakers finally breaking their free agency draught with a big swing, noting that seemingly every good player in the NBA has been linked to Los Angeles' A-Time at one point or another, but why would Lowe poke the proverbial bear if there isn't any fire behind it?
At this point, the Lakers are really looking to bounce back from a down free agency, with fans openly linking the team to darn near everyone from Paul George to Tyus Jones at one point or another throughout the offseason. If Lowe is comfortable enough to make that joke off the cuff, who knows, maybe there really is some smoke behind the fire, and fans could see Gants in place of someone like Rui Hachimora or D'Angelo Russell in JJ Redick's starting five this fall.
An NBA exec questions why the Lakers would trade for Jerami Grant
Discussing the prospects of a team like the Los Angeles Lakers or the Miami Heat trading for Jerami Grant, an anonymous NBA executive told Sean Deveney of Heavy that he isn't sure why another team would trade for the Trail Blazers' leading scorer from 2023-24, as at best he's a third option on a good team.
“Jerami Grant can play, he is a shooter, he is a good, active defender when he is engaged, he is going to do a lot of things that help your team. But he is a third option. He has some big numbers the last few years, but he has done it on terrible teams. No one is going to make a big trade for a guy who gives you 20 (points) on a bad team and 13 (points) on a good one,” an NBA exec told Sean Deveney of Heavy.
“Not with his contract. He is going to make $30 (million) next year $32 the year after that. Then he has two more years. You can't pay your third option $34, 35 million. If Portland wants the Lakers, the Heat, any of these teams to take him, they've got to recognize that… They're stubborn. Part of the job is to be stubborn, though. But part of the job is also seeing your mistakes and getting out of them. Grant was a mistake. Trading him now just to get out of that salary is the right thing to do, take whatever picks or young guys you can get.”
Can the Lakers really afford to give up their assets for a third-option forward who can do a little bit of everything but isn't elite at anything? No, they probably shouldn't cash it all in on that sort of player. But if the price is right and Grant can be had without surrendering any of the team's “core” players then hey, maybe the prospects of a deal would become much more tenable.
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