Bucks trade proposal brings Jeremy Grant to deal with Blazers

The The Milwaukee Bucks are reaching a crossroads. They are signaling to other teams, according to recent reports, that they want to go star hunting on the trade market to try to convince Giannis Antetokounmpo to commit to his long-term future amid swirling trade rumors involving his name.

Alas, the Bucks are nearly bereft of tradable assets after several years of being absorbed in emergency trades. They still lack a few picks in the 2020 Jrue Holiday trade, then gave the Portland Trail Blazers control of their 2028-2030 first-round picks – leaving them with nothing but 2030 picks to trade in any potential deal.

Doc there are some trades that could potentially workthe realistic outcome for the Bucks is to inspire their pursuit of stars, forcing them to settle for lower jobs that won’t do much for their long-term future.

For example, they have been linked to a trade for the Blazers’ wing Jerami Grant; Grant is a talented scorer who can defend, but he’s not a needle mover — especially not for a Bucks team struggling amid Antetokounmpo’s absence with a calf injury.

But alas, Grant is, if nothing else, a valuable piece for the Bucks. That’s what it would take for the Bucks to take another key piece away from the Blazers.

Bucks trade package for Jeramie Grant

Bucks take over: Jerami Grant

Blazers acquire: Kyle Kuzma, Bobby Portis

There was a time when Grant’s contract seemed very unchangeable. He was coming off a rotten 2024-25 season in which he played in just 47 games and averaged just 14.4 points on 37.3 percent shooting from the field. That’s not the kind of production any team wants from someone making around $30 million.

The Blazers appeared stuck with Grant’s contract, and heading into the 2025-26 campaign, it looked like he would be further removed from the team amid Danny Awdia’s rise to a primary scoring option. But amid the team’s injury woes, Grant has regained his value, thanks to his re-emergence as one of the league’s more consistent scorers.

Currently, he’s averaging 20.0 points per game on 44/40/86 shooting, good for a true shooting percentage of 60.7. It’s a career best for Grant, who is helping the Blazers stay afloat amid injury woes to their point guards.

But since the start of the decade, Grant being productive hasn’t exactly translated into winning basketball. With Grant signing a big contract with the Detroit Pistons before the start of the 2020-21 season, his teams set 103-187 record with him on the floor. While that’s not solely his fault, it’s clear that he’s not meant to be the main scoring option on a good team.

This is not to say that Grant does not belong on a winning team. He did well coming off the bench for the Denver Nuggets during the 2019-20 season, but it seems his calling is to play a key role on a winning team. He was miscast as a first option and may be underqualified to be a second option, and for a Bucks team in need of star power, Grant isn’t going to magically solve their problems.

As far as star hunting goes, Grant might not even be the moon for the Bucks. And that’s no small feat for Grant. But Milwaukee certainly has to dream bigger in any potential trade.

Moreover, Grant is making $32 million this season and and combined $70.6 million over the next two seasons, and for that kind of money, the Bucks are better off splitting it into other pieces.

The only scenario in which a trade for Grant makes sense for the Bucks is if it doesn’t cost them a first-round pick or one of their talented guards (Ryan Rollins or Kevin Porter Jr.). Therefore, packaging Kyle Kuzma and Bobby Portis for Grant should be worth the money.

Kuzma has been on a steady decline over the past few seasons, and like Grant, he’s coming off a terrible 2024-25 campaign. What makes matters worse for the Bucks is that they traded franchise legend Khris Middleton for the shell of Kuzma, who hasn’t moved the needle one bit for Milwaukee.

The Bucks envisioned Kuzma being more athletic and another scorer alongside Antetokounmpo. But Kuzma’s three-point shooting has deserted him (32.9 percent on the season on just 2.7 attempts per game) and he’s scoring just 13.5 points per game. That’s not the kind of production Milwaukee expected from him, not when he is the third highest salary on the team.

It would be one thing if Kuzma made up for it with other contributions, but he’s not dominant on the glass, a playmaker who makes his teammates better, or a defensive ace.

Meanwhile, Portis, who has been with the team for a long time, has been in trade rumors for some time. Portis is a favorite in Milwaukee, but the Bucks don’t have too many options when it comes to salary cap space, especially when they’re eating $22.5 million in dead money thanks to Damian Lillard.

For the Blazers, this at least helps them make up for their depth that was lost this past offseason. Portis is a solid backup center behind Donovan Clingan, who is sorely needed given how unprepared Young Hansen is for NBA minutes. Kuzma is a huge cut from Grant, but at least his contract is expiring a year earlier.

At the end of the day, fans shouldn’t expect any progress in this regard. The Blazers love Grant too much for them to part with him for such a package. It would be crazy for the Bucks to trade anything more for Grant because he’s not the kind of star that could make Antetokounmpo stay.

This is a hypothetical trade that the Bucks are better off leaving in an imaginary world.