NBA
#19 – Washington Wizards: Jerian Grant
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
With the 19th pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, the Washington Wizards selected Notre Dame point guard Jerian Grant. The Wizards subsequently traded Grant to the New York Knicks as a part of a three-team deal with the Atlanta Hawks.
The Knicks have been searching for an answer at the point guard position for several seasons, and the soon-to-be 23-year-old can hit the floor ready to go for head coach Derek Fisher and his staff. The 6’5 lead guard averaged 16.5 points on 47.8 percent shooting from the field, while dishing out 6.6 assists for the Fighting Irish as a senior.
Son of former NBA player Harvey Grant, Jerian’s greatest attribute may be his court-vision and willingness to find the open man. The Knicks ranked just 19th in assists per game in 2014-15, and Grant’s playmaking ability should really come in handy for a team still guilty of resorting to isolation basketball a bit too often as elements of the Triangle offense proved difficult for last year’s roster to adapt to.
As a larger guard, he’s seen as an ideal fit for the triangle offense, but could stand to improve from beyond-the-arc. Grant shot just 31.6 percent from deep as a senior on 4.2 attempts per contest.
