One of Grant’s Media Day quotes raised some eyebrows.
NBA Media Day is typically a light spectacle heavy on boilerplate optimism and PR-filtered responses looking ahead to the upcoming season. Portland Trail Blazers 2025 Media Day followed that script for 99.5% of its three-hour runtime on Monday morning at the Moda Center.
And then came Jerami Grant.
For a brief moment during his six-minute turn at the podium, the 31-year-old veteran forward filled the other 0.5% of the event with a short, revealing answer that was delivered calmly, yet cut through the room like a misstruck piano key:
“Nah, I don’t really expect that.”
The response was to a question asking whether Grant would consider a role coming off the bench this season. He didn’t elaborate more beyond that, but a few minutes later he provided more honesty when asked if, after last season, he had expected to return to Portland for another year.
“Probably not,” Grant said. “I definitely didn’t, but I’m happy that I’m here right now. The way the team is structured and everything, the changes that were made — I think it’s beneficial for me and for our team.”
Those two quotes from Grant possibly provided some foreshadowing to how the Blazers will sort out their starting lineup this season, a hot topic all summer given there are seven viable contenders for those five spots. With Grant coming off a down season, coupled with the ascension of forwards Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara, he has become a possible candidate this fall to move to a bench role for the first time since his 2020-21 campaign with the Denver Nuggets. However, if Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups intends to solve the rotation crunch by following that path, Media Day showed it may require some smoothing over or come at the risk of disgruntling the forward owed more than $100 million over the next three seasons.
Through 47 games last season, Grant averaged just 14.5 points per game, his lowest total since the 2019-20 season. He also shot 36.5% on 3s following two consecutive seasons where he shot over 40%. At last spring’s exit interview, Grant said some of those difficulties arose from the challenge he faced fitting into Portland’s offense while adapting to a new role and new teammates. On a more positive note Monday, Grant said the team took strides this offseason that made him optimistic. He liked the addition of fellow veteran Jrue Holiday and the return of former teammate Damian Lillard. Particularly, he liked the priority shown toward winning.
“I think [Lillard’s departure in 2023] shifted the mentality of what it was the last few years, mentally — going into the season not knowing whether we wanted to win or lose or whatever,” Grant said. “But now, I think it’s definite. I think everybody’s on the same page, and I’m looking forward to where we’re headed.”
While Grant struggled last season on offense, his defense remained stout, especially on the help side. He’s also just a year removed from averaging over 20 points a game. At 31, it’s possible he can return to form, and he thinks it’s possible for him to start alongside the 6-foot-7 Camara and 6-foot-9 Avdija.
“I think we all are versatile,” said Grant, who stands at a lanky 6-foot-7. “I think we all can play multiple positions, so yeah, I do [think we could start together.]”
Scoot Henderson’s recently torn hamstring likely locked Holiday into the starting point guard position. The 7-foot-1 Donovan Clingan has been informally penciled into the starting center spot since the departure of Deandre Ayton in July. If Grant ends up starting alongside Camara and Avdija as part of a jumbo-sized lineup of defense and length, that would likely mean fourth-year guard Shaedon Sharpe is the odd man out of the starting five.
The 2022 No. 7 overall pick is entering a contract year and attempting to make good on his lottery-pick potential with more consistency. Sharpe started 52 games last season, in part because of injuries to teammates, but he gave an open-minded answer Monday when asked if he expects to start this season.
“I don’t expect anything, really,” Sharpe said. “I just expect for me to come in and help this team, whether that’s coming off the bench or starting, it doesn’t really matter to me. I’m just gonna come out and do what I gotta do to help this team.”
While specific names weren’t mentioned in the question, Billups was also asked how he plans to sort out the starting lineup come opening night. He kept a poker face about where he’s leaning. Instead, he reiterated a familiar message from last season: It’s up to the players to earn those starting spots.
“There’s a lot of different ways you can go,” Billups said. “I’ll say this to y’all, and I’ll say this to our guys: ‘I’m not really the one that’s deciding that, I’m really not. I’m just going to be the messenger.‘ They gotta go earn it. Whoever earns it, whoever plays the best, whoever plays the best as a unit, [that’s who will be] the starters.”
Billups continued: “I’m really happy to even have this discussion — to have the talent, to have the depth. This is new for me. … At the end of the day, I’m a fair coach, and I think they all need to go and earn it.”
Perhaps, Grant will win the starting job outright through training camp and the preseason. Or maybe, even if he expects to start, he’ll still adjust to a bench role if that’s what Billups asks him to do.
If either of those scenarios come true, Grant’s blunt honesty about his intentions to start this season could amount to nothing too substantial in the end. All that’s clear from Media Day is Grant’s place in the rotation is a situation to monitor and one that has the potential for awkwardness.
Category: General Sports
