Some Praise for Jerami

[OrangeTown]

Lowe's 10 things: Luka, a lost Bull and a rookie unicorn

He talks about Jerami at #3. I will copy the text here for those who don't want to visit the site, but there are some videos incorporated into the article you may want to see.

3. Jerami Grant, rounding out the Thunder

More than with most players, the league (and media) have defined Grant against his theoretical apex self. If only he could shoot 3s, he would be the ultimate switch-everything stretch power forward. Maybe just corner 3s?

The Thunder ditched that experiment last season, and transformed Grant into a rim-running center next to Patrick Patterson on bench units. He fared well, but that role put a low ceiling on Grant's playing time; Steven Adams works in the same habitat, and Grant obviously wasn't stealing any of his minutes. That was fine as long as the Thunder had a real starting power forward.
Carmelo Anthony wasn't it. They tried Patterson, but he hasn't been the same since 2015. Good thing Grant is amenable.
In Year 5, the game is starting to click for him. He's shooting 36 percent from deep on a career-high number of attempts (by far), and he's actually been much better on longer, non-corner 3s -- probably an encouraging sign. We can't assume Grant will keep hitting at that pace. We shouldn't assume otherwise, either.

Grant is playing with a new calm and feel. The bricky Thunder navigate thickets of bodies, but Grant is good at spotting narrow corridors, and slipping into them for floaters:

He still gets to screen-and-dive some, with Adams lurking under the backboard, and Grant finds him with quick-hitting interior passes.

He's more opportunistic and under control off the bounce:

His turnover rate remains minuscule -- crucial for fourth and fifth options. There is less jolting violence in Grant's game, and more fluidity. That's not as fun, but it makes for a more polished complement to the ferocity of Russell Westbrook and Adams' pointy-elbowed brutality.

Grant has rounded out the league's hottest team. Oklahoma City has outscored opponents by almost nine points per 100 possessions with Grant, Adams and Paul George on the floor.

Grant is as versatile as ever on defense. He holds up well in the post against behemoths; opponents have scored about 0.75 points per possession when they post up against Grant, per Second Spectrum tracking data.

The playoffs will be Grant's ultimate litmus test. The pace will slow. Teams will stray an extra step or two away, and dare him to shoot. If he fails early, it might test Billy Donovan's patience.

 

[sugrad68]

Jerami Grant is a player who I believe left SU too early, although I don't blame him at all for doing so. His game in college was one-dimensional and his body build was not ready for the pro level. I think if he had come back for 1 more season his game would have transitioned better to the pro level more quickly. He was so much fun to watch in college and I missed him. But like I said if it is a player's dream to play pro ball and you get all that money thrown at you, how can you say no? I'm glad to see his improvement Y-T-Y.

 

[OrangeTown]

Jerami Grant is a player who I believe left SU too early, although I don't blame him at all for doing so. His game in college was one-dimensional and his body build was not ready for the pro level. I think if he had come back for 1 more season his game would have transitioned better to the pro level more quickly. He was so much fun to watch in college and I missed him. But like I said if it is a player's dream to play pro ball and you get all that money thrown at you, how can you say no? I'm glad to see his improvement Y-T-Y.

I think a lot of us feel/felt that way to some extent - you could just see the potential in him lurking just a tiny bit away. You very well may be right - an extra year here could have let him acclimate himself more quickly to the NBA.

That being said, he's looking like our best recent NBA player since Melo/Hakim/Wes/Dion and is pulling in $8 million this year and is still super young. I think he's going to end up having quite a nice career.

 

[OrangeDW]

Jerami Grant is a player who I believe left SU too early, although I don't blame him at all for doing so. His game in college was one-dimensional and his body build was not ready for the pro level. I think if he had come back for 1 more season his game would have transitioned better to the pro level more quickly. He was so much fun to watch in college and I missed him. But like I said if it is a player's dream to play pro ball and you get all that money thrown at you, how can you say no? I'm glad to see his improvement Y-T-Y.

I agree. Many said at the time that he was fortunate to get picked by the Sixers, as Philly invested both a guaranteed contract and some decent playing time into him right away - and they were so bad that they were probably the only team that would’ve done so to that extent.

Can’t help but wonder if he would’ve made it if he got picked by someone else? I think that there’s an awfully thin line between making it and not, for a lot of guys.

Major credit to him for working hard and continuing to develop his game.

 

[Ghost]

I agree. Many said at the time that he was fortunate to get picked by the Sixers, as Philly invested both a guaranteed contract and some decent playing time into him right away - and they were so bad that they were probably the only team that would’ve done so to that extent.

Can’t help but wonder if he would’ve made it if he got picked by someone else? I think that there’s an awfully thin line between making it and not, for a lot of guys.

Major credit to him for working hard and continuing to develop his game.

Great post - and very much concur. If he wasn't picked by Philly he could easily have been sent to the D-League and just seen his career flounder. You never know, but it's certainly a viable possibility that he ends up in a situation where he doesn't get the coaching/time needed to develop.

I would echo everyone else on here - he was the one guy who genuinely could have stayed a year and likely done nothing but help himself. With most other players we've had, Mali, etc...I could see it going either way, but not so much with Grant. I think that extra year to develop would have really helped. But, again, who knows...maybe he gets picked by the wrong team then? Ennis remains the other side of the coin...I just can't ever see an argument where he should have stayed.

 

[tbonezone]

super dunker.

 

[longtimefan]

Great post - and very much concur. If he wasn't picked by Philly he could easily have been sent to the D-League and just seen his career flounder. You never know, but it's certainly a viable possibility that he ends up in a situation where he doesn't get the coaching/time needed to develop.

I would echo everyone else on here - he was the one guy who genuinely could have stayed a year and likely done nothing but help himself. With most other players we've had, Mali, etc...I could see it going either way, but not so much with Grant. I think that extra year to develop would have really helped. But, again, who knows...maybe he gets picked by the wrong team then? Ennis remains the other side of the coin...I just can't ever see an argument where he should have stayed.

If he had stayed another year, who would have fed him the ball?

 

[Ghost]

If he had stayed another year, who would have fed him the ball?

Himself - thunder dunks on lobs off the backboard to himself!!!!!