Jerami Grant has been known as a solid role player his whole career, but this year he’s taken it to another level. This past offseason, Jerami Grant decided to leave Finals contenders in the Nuggets to join the Pistons to be their #1 option. On the Nuggets, Jerami Grant would get good amount of minutes, but they never saw him as a top offensive option. They obviously have other stars to feed like Jamal Murray, Nikola Jokic, and now Michael Porter Jr.
Grant decided to take his talents to Detroit and prove to the rest of the NBA that he deserves to be considered a top offensive option. Well… it’s paid off for him and the Pistons big time so far. The Pistons signed 3 big men this offseason in Jahlil Okafor, Mason Plumlee, and Jerami Grant. A lot of people questioned when the Pistons let go of Christian Wood, but so far… it hasn’t affected them with Jerami Grant. Currently, Grant is averaging 24.8 PPG and 6.0 RPG on 45.6% from the field and 38.5% from three-point land. Those are efficient numbers and numbers of a potential All-Star in the Eastern Conference.
Grant has shown that he can take over as that #1 option on a team and be relied on, as he showed against the Suns:
Jerami Grant can definitely be an All-Star in the Eastern conference if he keeps up the way he is playing. He is showing the rest of the league that he was more than just a role player. Grant can score on the inside, on the outside, and play great defense on top power forwards and small forwards around the league. The Pistons should be trying to build around Grant and get pieces around him that compliment him. Shipping out players like Derrick Rose & Blake Griffin should be the top priority for the Pistons front office.
Grant is being asked to do so much more for the Pistons and he’s excelling in doing so. Jerami Grant was never expected to create his own offense or handle the ball before, but he’s doing at a high level right now. He is currently in the 78th percentile scoring 1.19 points per possession in isolation situations which is impressive for his size. He is playing at an elite level with his career high in usage ( 25.6%, 18% being the career high before that).
I think Jerami Grant will make it definitely a tough fight for Christian Wood for the Most Improved Player Award, going to be an interesting race for sure…
