{"id":153725,"date":"2025-08-07T07:46:31","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T11:46:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=153725"},"modified":"2025-08-07T07:46:31","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T11:46:31","slug":"why-jerami-grants-trail-blazers-starter-spot-is-in-jeopardy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/08\/07\/why-jerami-grants-trail-blazers-starter-spot-is-in-jeopardy\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Jerami Grant’s Trail Blazers Starter Spot Is In Jeopardy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ahead of the 2025-26 season, Jerami Grant<\/a> is not an assured Blazers starter anymore. He has been a consistent player for a long while, but he might have lost his spot. With Deni Avdija<\/a> and Toumani Camara’s<\/a> rise, it isn’t easy to see Grant in the first five.<\/p>\n

Why Jerami Grant’s Trail Blazers Starter Spot Is In Jeopardy<\/h2>\n

The hype is real for the Portland Trail Blazers, as they look improved ahead of the 2025-26 season. With Chauncey Billups at the helm, they are a fantastic defensive team. With Camara leading the charge as their versatile defender<\/a>, Portland is a threat to any team.<\/p>\n

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Feb 20, 2025; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant (9) drives to the basket during the first half against the Los Angeles Lakers at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They ended the 2024-25 season with an established starting lineup that had Camara and Avdija as the forward duo. Camara is one of the league’s best defenders, while Avdija was arguably the Blazers’ best player. That all happened while Grant sat out most of the second half of the season.<\/p>\n

Now that everyone is healthy, bar the returning Damian Lillard<\/a>, Grant should be back in the starting lineup. However, that is no longer that easy to say, because Grant might not be the best option.<\/p>\n

Grant Might Not Be The Optimal Blazers Starter Anymore<\/h3>\n

When the Blazers traded for Grant in 2022, he was the new running mate for Lillard. He had some standout performances for the Detroit Pistons as a number-one option. The former Syracuse Orange became one of the league’s better forwards on both ends of the floor.<\/p>\n

Billups loved that two-way ability, which automatically made him the second player in the pecking order behind Lillard. Unfortunately for the Blazers, that did not work out, which led to their franchise cornerstone’s trade request.<\/p>\n

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Deni Avdija \u2197\ufe0f Jerami Grant pic.twitter.com\/1GuZUnzBxX<\/a><\/p>\n

— NBA Poland (@NBAPolska23) October 19, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n