The Cleveland Cavaliers are expected to beef up for the 2020-21 NBA season and Jerami Grant of the Denver Nuggets was reportedly a target. However, the trajectory has changed a little following the 26-year-old’s performance in the recently concluded NBA bubble.
Normally, the good performance of Grant would speak well for the Cavs. But along with his performance rose his value. Hence, Grant is likely to want a big raise for any team who may take him in next season. He earned $9.3 million last NBA season. Though an increase was bound to happen, the numbers are likely to spike above what the Cavs had previously forecasted. Hence, Grant could be out of the Cavs expected price range, Cleveland.com reported.
Looking at his numbers last season, Grand had decent numbers to show. He played in 71 regular-season games, averaging 12 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists. These are better numbers compared to his career-highs.
But like other players, the value of a Jerami Grant goes beyond the stats sheet. He was one of the vital cogs for head coach Mike Malone. Proof of that was eliminating the Los Angeles Clippers after trailing that series 1-3. They made it to the Western Conference Finals and Grant was a man to watch.
Grant has a player option to stay with the Nuggets next season. That deal is worth $9.3 million but the 39th pick of the 2014 NBA Draft is expected to opt out for higher pay, the Denver Post reported.
For the coming season, the projected asking price of Grant could be somewhere in the vicinity of $14 to $16 million annually. Those are fair numbers but only to NBA teams who have the right budget for new faces for the 2020-21 season.
Also worth noting is that the Nuggets are likely to exhaust all means possible to bring back Grant to the fold. With Paul Millsap expected to hit free agency as well, Malone and company would do well to keep the promising forward and hope to improve on their surprising 2019-20 performance.
As for the Cavs, it would be best to check out the free-agent market for other names. Derrick Jones Jr. could be an interesting target, assuming they are looking for someone who can beef up the defensive end.
![Jerami Grant #9 of the Denver Nuggets](https://d.latintimes.com/en/full/463522/jerami-grant-9-denver-nuggets.jpg?w=736&f=15fed361702ffccfa4fafb4e588e02a1)
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