Northwest Notes: Grant, Kessler, Collins, Williams, Strawther, Braun

The Trail Blazers figure to be one of the more active teams in the trade market and Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report lists a handful of players who could be moved if the right offer comes along. That group includes Jerami Grant, Deandre Ayton, Anfernee Simons, Matisse Thybulle and Robert Williams.

Grant could be at the top of that list, according to Highkin — there’s a market for the productive veteran forward and there will never be a better time for the Blazers to move him. Rival teams are indicating that two first-rounders is more than they’re willing to give up for Grant but that could change by the deadline. Grant had a 32-point game against San Antonio on Friday.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

• Walker Kessler and John Collins have been bright spots in an otherwise disappointing start for the Jazz, Tony Jones of The Athletic writes. However, lottery pick Cody Williams‘ struggles during his rookie season raises some concerns. He got rotation minutes early in the season but has spent the last few weeks working on his game in the G League.
• The Nuggets want Julian Strawther to fire away, Bennett Durando of the Denver Post writes. Coach Michael Malone wants to see Strawther put up more 3s. “It gives us a boost. It gives us a guy off the bench that you can play through and run plays for,” Malone said. “His catch-and-shoot ability, the 3-point line. … He’s taking four a game at a really healthy clip. Let’s get that number up to six, six-and-a-half 3s per game.” Strawther, who has scored in double figures four straight games, has made 39% of his 3s on 3.4 attempts per game.
• Nuggets guard Christian Braun missed his first game since the 2023 Western Conference Finals, Durando tweets. Braun sat out Monday’s game against the Kings due to a lower back strain. Braun is averaging 15 points a game.