Prospect Watch: Jerian Grant
While so many focused in on the soaring stock of Cameron Payne, with rumor-y rumors linking the Thunder with the Murray State guard, there hasn’t been much talk about Jerian Grant, who would appear to be a strong fit for Oklahoma City.
And the fact is, he looks pretty nice on the Thunder’s roster.
Grant was a four-year player at Notre Dame, blossoming last season into a scoring point guard that led the Irish to an ACC Tournament win and within a whisper of upsetting Kentucky. He attacks the basket extremely well, has solid defensive potential, and the biggest thing, as the Draft Express video lists, is size at his position. That’s a big Presti checkmark.
At 6-foot-5, Grant can check an important box of playing alongside Russell Westbrook. Merely spending a lottery pick on a backup point guard seems a tad wasteful. But identifying someone with positional versatility that can swap backcourt positions with Westbrook brings a whole new dynamic to the pick. And would seem to be something preferable, as I’ve already written like 10 times.
Grant seems sort of Reggie Jackson-ish to me, in that he’s strong, gets to the rim with power, and finishes well, while also leaving something to be desired from the perimeter. One of the issues Grant faced as opposing teams keyed in on him more was an inability to create clean jumpshots off the dribble. He’s a bit of a set-shooter, and while he flashed a nasty daggery step-back in the NCAA tournament, that’s not a consistent shot. He’s a really sharp passer, and plays with nice feel. Mike Brey runs a lot of pick-and-roll and Grant excelled out of that as a passer, which is encouraging. He’s a very good playmarker — he averaged 7.3 assists per-40 minutes, pace adjusted. He had a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover (ninth overall in the nation last year), which was better than D’Angelo Russell, Tyus Jones, Delon Wright or Cam Payne.
The weaknesses are pretty simple: He’s not a very good shooter — especially as a catch-and-shoot guy — while also having a bad habit for taking questionable off-the-dribble shots. As you can see in the Draft Express profile, he has a bit of a case of The Waiters, not finishing after an otherwise excellent drive.
But really, the more I watch Grant, the more I wonder why he hasn’t scooted up draft boards. He might not be impressing much in workouts and his combine numbers don’t necessarily pop. Jackson had a seven-foot wingspan (which is ridiculous for a 6-4 guy) while Grant measured at six-foot-seven-and-a-half. The other likely reason: He’s already 22 years old.
If the Thunder are indeed leaning point guard, it could come down to choosing between Payne and Grant, per who is still available, of course. And the more I see, the more I think Grant is the better fit. Plus, he provides a much better chance to check that trendy i-word box — impact player. If we follow Presti draft checklist, Grant seems to meet the criteria better than a lot — size at position, athleticism, maturity, positional flexibility, some upside and plenty of toughness. I’m starting to think this could be the guy to watch.
