Syracuse in the NBA: Jerami Grant gets his payday

Both the NBA Finals and the NBA Draft concluded in June. The opening of free agency and the Las Vegas Summer League both came and went earlier this month.

With eyes on the league calendar now shifting to the start of preseason training camps in early October, most of the player movement has occurred.

Here's how it all shook out for the five former Syracuse players that are currently in the league:

After Boeheim averaged 9.0 minutes and 1.6 points in 10 NBA games last season with the Detroit Pistons, the team renounced his rights in early July, making him a free agent. He still played for the Pistons in Las Vegas, averaging over 11 minutes per game in five contests. He shot 45 percent from 3-point range and averaged 6.0 points in Las Vegas. He is free to sign with any team (including the Pistons) that may be looking for a 3-point specialist.

Now entering his fifth NBA season, Brissett has never played in the playoffs. That streak looks like it will come to an end, as he signed a 2-year deal with the Boston Celtics, one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.

Having spent the last three seasons with Indiana, Brissett decided to leave as a free agent after the Pacers drafted one power forward in Jarace Walker and traded for another one in Obi Toppin.

Brissett looks like he will have a role as a forward in Boston's rotation, backing up the likes of Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis.

As Boston seems poised to make a deep playoff run again next spring, Brissett could become just the third former Syracuse player to win an NBA championship, following Marty Byrnes with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1980 and Dion Waiters in 2020, also with the Lakers.

On Feb. 26, the Orlando Magic signed Carter-Williams to a two-year deal, with his salary for the upcoming season being a team option. Having only played four games last season, there wasn't much of a playing role for Carter-Williams. After having added two more lottery picks in Anthony Black and Jett Howard, it seems like the chances of Carter-Williams seeing much of the floor for the Magic next season are slim.

Not only was Grant's 5-year, $160 million deal the largest amount of money shelled out in a single contract by an NBA team this offseason, it's the largest contract given out to a non-All-Star player in NBA history. The real question is if Damian Lillard will be his teammate come October.

Lillard demanded a trade at the beginning of the free agency period, but has yet to call the Trail Blazers his former team. If he is, indeed, traded, Grant would become arguably the best player on Portland and inarguably the veteran leader on a team looking to rebuild.

With an interesting group of young talent that includes Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe and this year's No. 3 overall pick Scoot Henderson, Grant may have some exciting teammates, no matter where Lillard ends up. However, if the Blazers have any aspirations of making the playoffs this year, Lillard will have to remain in Portland.

For the second straight summer, Swider participated on the Lakers' summer league team. In five games in Las Vegas, he continued to provide something that the Lakers will need this upcoming season: shooting. He made 17 of his 40 3-point attempts in five games, averaging 15.2 points in those contests.

He will be on a two-way contract this season for Los Angeles and will look to get in the mix among LeBron James' teammates who get easy looks from the outside because of the attention paid to James and Anthony Davis on the inside.

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