Jerami Grant: A perfect fit for Trail Blazers who is ‘just getting started’

Jerami Grant will sit at his locker for several minutes following games, wearing a towel wrapped around his waist, looking at his phone.

If someone talks to the Trail Blazers forward, Grant will shift his gaze, smile and chat. Then it’s back to the phone. Eventually, his long, lanky, lean body will rise and he’ll head to the shower.

This routine plays out nightly, whether Grant performed well or even on nights like Thursday, when he managed just five points in a loss to Brooklyn to end a hot streak that saw him average 26.1 points over seven games.

But his general attitude — one that oozes “On to the next one” — is consistent in such moments.

“He’s just a good dude,” Blazers All-Star Damian Lillard said. “He’s humble. When he is doing well, he’s not saying too much. When he’s struggling, he’s not saying too much. He’s always got a smile on his face.”

Grant has a lot to smile about these days. He is having the best statistical season of his career and making an important impact on the Blazers (10-5), a team that sits atop the Western Conference standings. It’s a team whose coach and superstar zeroed in on him with the expectation that he would elevate the franchise. And he has not disappointed, playing like an All-Star over the first 15 games of the season.

Needless to say, Grant is feeling right at home.

“Just getting started,” Grant said. “I think it’s going the right way, though. Winning a lot of games. … It’s going well.”

HOT PURSUIT

The Blazers have been on the hunt for an All-Star-caliber forward since LaMarcus Aldridge left for San Antonio following the 2015-16 season.

(From L) USA’s Zachary Lavine, Damian Lillard, Kevin Wayne Durant, Khris Middleton and Houston Jerami Grant celebrate with their gold medals in the podium during the medal ceremony for the men’s basketball competition of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama on August 7, 2021. (Photo by Aris MESSINIS / AFP) (Photo by ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images

A tumultuous 2021 offseason saw coach Chauncey Billups replace Terry Stotts and Lillard, for the first time, indicated that he could potentially seek a trade if the Blazers didn’t upgrade the roster. That summer, Lillard also won a gold medal while playing for the U.S. men’s basketball team at the Tokyo Olympics.

Grant, then with the Detroit Pistons, also played on Team USA. He and Lillard clicked while hanging out between practices and games and talking on the team bus to and from events.

Grant said he spent a lot of time talking to other players, including Lillard, and the two grew close.

“It kind of just blossomed into what it is,” Grant said.

Grant appreciated Lillard’s competitiveness and leadership on the court, but found Lillard most interesting away from basketball.

“It’s more the person he is than anything else,” Grant said.

Lillard said he first noticed and appreciated Grant’s unassuming demeanor.

“The reason why I knew he would be good for our team is because I got to see the kind of person he was behind closed doors,” Lillard said. “How he was every day.”

Grant also impressed Lillard with how well he competed against All-Stars such as Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. Grant’s work ethic stood out. When practices concluded, Lillard said, Grant put in extra work on his own.

“I was just like, he would be the perfect four-man for us,” Lillard recalled. “I think he can take us up a level.”

Grant entered last season with one year remaining on his contract and eligible for a four-year, $111 million extension. He led the Pistons in scoring in 2020-21, but the team sputtered to a 20-52 record. The Pistons went 23-59 last season with Grant averaging 19.2 points per game. Detroit had started rebuilding around Cade Cunningham, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2021 NBA draft, suggesting the Pistons were ready to move on from Grant.

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, left, and forward Jerami Grant celebrate at the end of the team’s NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs in Portland, Ore., Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer) APAP

From the Olympic sessions through the 2021-22 season, Lillard said he had never talked more to an opposing player. The two becoming teammates was a major topic of discussion. Lillard let Blazers management know he wanted Grant. Billups coveted him as well. The front office’s efforts to acquire Grant before the 2022 trade deadline failed, but Lillard entered the offseason confident the Blazers would land his new friend.

“I knew we would,” he said.

PERFECT FIT

Portland acquired Grant from Detroit for a 2025 first-round pick. The move meant that he would no longer be the No. 1 option on his team, since the Blazers already had Lillard. But, Billups said, Grant has always been eager to defer to the franchise cornerstone.

“It says a lot about who he is as a person and who he is as a teammate,” Billups said. “In my early talks with Jerami, he said he had a lot of fun being a No. 1 guy. But at the end of the day, it takes a different individual to relish being a No. 1 guy on a team that’s losing.”

Grant was more concerned with winning again, as he had done in Denver and Oklahoma City.

Grant’s shooting percentages decreased in Detroit from his days playing alongside stars in Denver (Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray) and Oklahoma City (Russell Westbrook and Paul George). Now, he is essentially the third option behind Lillard and Anfernee Simons.

Grant likes it that way.

Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant (9) makes a game-wining shot over Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Nov. 4, 2022, in Phoenix. The Trail Blazers defeated the Suns 108-106. (AP Photo/Matt York)AP

“You get less attention,” he said. “You’re able to go one-on-one. You’re able to make plays and pick your spots.”

In 14 appearances, Grant is averaging 20.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists, while shooting 48.2% from the field, including 47.4% from three-point range. As his comfort level grows within the offense and with his new teammates, Grant has become more aggressive on offense. During the Blazers’ recent six-game trip, he averaged 26.2 points and 5.4 rebounds, while shooting 54.8% from the field and 55.2% from long range in five appearances.

Amid all the production, he also has proven to be clutch. Grant already has hit two game-winning shots, lifting the Blazers to wins over the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns.

Not bad for a so-called third option.

“I don’t consider him to be a role player here,” Billups said. “He’s one of our feature guys.”

The Blazers now have three major offensive threats. But unlike Simons, Grant already has been a No. 1 option, so he brings added value because he has handled that level of pressure.

“I know what it takes to be in that position,” he said. “So, I’m able to do whatever my team needs for me to do.”

Defensively, Grant’s impact has been practically limitless.

“He allows us to do some things defensively that I think any team in the league would love to have the option to do,” Billups said.

Grant can defend at least four positions and Billups often uses him to disrupt point guards.

“A lot of times he is guarding guys who are smaller and quicker than him, but he’s so smart with his length and his spacing that he’s able to contest a lot of those shots,” Billups said. “More importantly, what people don’t understand, is that he’s able to contest a lot of those passes that they would make that are no longer on time or on target because of his length.”

ALL-STAR POTENTIAL

The Blazers have not had an All-Star not named Lillard since 2016. Grant could be on the verge of becoming one. Yes, it’s early in the season, but if he continues producing at this rate and the Blazers keep winning, it’s possible.

“There’s so many really good players in the league that it’s hard to be an All-Star,” Lillard said. “So, for him it’s like whether he’s actually on an All-Star team or makes the All-Star team, or not, he’s that caliber player. So, I think we definitely got that guy that we were looking for at that position.”

Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant scores a layup under the hoop during an NBA game against the Memphis Grizzlies at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022.Sean Meagher/The Oregonian

Two players from last season’s Western Conference All-Star team now reside in the East, as Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell was traded to Cleveland and San Antonio guard Dejounte Murray was traded to Atlanta. That leaves two vacant spots.

Two more Western Conference All-Stars — Draymond Green and Chris Paul — have underperformed, potentially opening up two more roster spots.

Of course, Grant won’t be the only player absent from last season’s All-Star team looking to make a push this season.

LA Clippers forward Paul George, a seven-time All-Star, and Lakers forward Anthony Davis, an eight-time All-Star, were injured last season. So was Lillard, a six-time All-Star.

All three are back to All-Star-caliber form this season.

Plus, there will be several potential new All-Stars in play such as Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and New Orleans forward Zion Williamson.

Grant’s chances would be enhanced should the Blazers remain in the top half of the Western Conference standings.

But even if Grant isn’t selected, he is making an impact on par with most All-Star players.

“I just think he is in the perfect position with the perfect team and obviously I’m a little biased,” Billups said.

And as a bonus to his massive production, Grant’s personality has fit in well with the Blazers, adding to the team’s chemistry, which has been rock solid to start the season.

“He’s never outside of himself,” Lillard said. “I think people like that. I think people are drawn to that.”

— Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook). Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts

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