Portland Trail Blazers - Acquired via trade in July 2022
- Birthdate: 03/12/1994
- Drafted (NBA): 39th pick, 2014
- Pre-draft team: Syracuse
- Country: USA
- Hand: Right
- Agent: Steve McCaskill (Catalyst Sports)
| Date | League | Transaction |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 NBA Draft | NBA | Drafted 39th overall by Philadelphia. |
| 29th September, 2014 | NBA | Signed a partially guaranteed four year, $3,761,705 contract with Philadelphia. Included team option for 2017/18. |
| 1st November, 2016 | NBA | Traded by Philadelphia to Oklahoma City in exchange for Ersan Ilyasova and a protected 2020 first round pick. |
| 27th June, 2017 | NBA | Oklahoma City exercised 2017/18 team option. |
| 10th July, 2018 | NBA | Re-signed by Oklahoma City to a three year, $27,346,153 contract. Included player option for 2020/21. |
| 2012 - 2014 | Syracuse (NCAA) |
| July 2014 | Philadelphia 76ers (Summer League) |
| June 2014 - November 2016 | Philadelphia 76ers (NBA) |
| November 2016 - present | Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA) |
August 31, 2018
[...] It does not help that the team's best shooting options outside of George are Abrines and Patterson, the two movable expiring mid-range salaries per the above who could otherwise theoretically be moved to provide short term financial relief. It further does not help that Grant is a limited shooter from the outside, and Schroeder is a sub-par one for a lead guard as well. It only makes it worse that both Noel and third string point guard Raymond Felton are also not plus shooters, and that while Terrence Ferguson projects to be a decent shooter in his future, he is not one yet. Luwawu-Cabarrot has a similar projection yet has not done enough in two years to show himself as being worthy of a spot in the rotation; the rotation, then, features one good shooter (George), two decent ones who do little else, don't do anything significant to get open and who would ideally be salary dumped (Abrines and Patterson), and a bunch of mediocre to bad shooters. [...]
[...] Internal growth projections for the Thunder's shooting disparity are not favourable. Westbrook would have to make a significant post-30 improvement, and in five years, Schroeder has somehow gone back under the 30% mark again. Felton has managed only a 32.9% career mark in 13 seasons. Abrines has the best looking stroke, but his physical profile makes a high volume of shots hard to foresee, while Patterson's knee problems have seen him really regress as a player. Ferguson could be a good one, but needs to prove himself capable of a sizeable role for that to be of true value. The same is true of rookie Hamadou Diallo, whose form thus far has been better than his results. Adams and Noel have shown no signs and should be on the offensive glass anyway. And although Grant is now likely getting the starting stretch four role, he has never been a good one anyway. [...]
June 29, 2017
Jerami Grant
SF/PF, 6’8, 210lbs, 23 years old, 3 years of experience
Having traded a first round pick for him, however protected it may be, Grant responded to this endorsement by putting up a somewhat worse season than the one prior. It is hard to project Grant as a player. He is not a handler, he is not historically a shooter (although the 37.7% three-point shooting on a .367 three-point rate with the Thunder last season is a good sign of progression here), he does not stand out as a rebounder, and while he finishes well at the rim, he mostly gets there with cuts. Most importantly, while his projection is mostly on the defensive end, he is stuck between positions, defending power forwards better than wing players yet limited as a power forward by the rebounding. Grant has made improvements, not only in the shooting but also in the much improved turnover rates, yet that improvement has partly come through doing less and less offensively, which in turn pigeon holes him as a player, and it’s a weird pigeon hole.
Player Plan: One more year at the minimum salary via a team option that has not been exercised at the time of writing, but should be. Exercising the option eschews restricted free agency, but that’s OK. Hard to find a role for Grant on this team, but with the price paid to acquire him, one ought to be found. He can at least shoot now.
June 18, 2014
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| Jerami Grant gets on well with his teammates. |
2013/14 stats: 31.4 mpg, 12.1 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.4 apg, 0.8 spg, 0.6 bpg, 1.2 TOpg, 2.3 fpg, 49.6% FG, 0% 3PT, 67.4% FT
Grant fell down boards, despite his athletic prowess, on account of not having one go-to facet of his game. His biggest virtue is looking the part - very athletic, long and wiry strong, he has what would be an ideal small forward's body type. But as it is, he's a power forward through and through.
Grant is a very poor shooter who also displays little handle on the ball. He has body control and likes a spin move, but the ball doesn't always come with him when he performs it. A long way short of being a small forward, Grant is not even close to being a regularly effective face-up power forward at this stage. Nor indeed are his skills as a traditional paint power forward all that much more advanced. Grant rarely posts and looks unready when he does, and offensively is a finisher at best.
What he does however bring are the unmissable physical tools, and an idea of how to use them regardless of the limitations of his skill set. Grant runs the floor on offense and finishes well at the rim, and also cuts to the rim in timely fashion to finish without having to handle too much. He can sneak through gaps with great body control, and also can do the one or two dribbles necessary to get to the rim past slow or overplaying defenders, where again he can finish explosively. The defensive end is the one where he is set to thrive - disruptive and committed, Grant can stay in front of wing players and does a fairly good job of bodying up opposing power forwards like himself. He needs some more weight, but that will come.
Grant looks a pro, and surely will be. There's a long way to go yet, but then again, what's the rush?