Phoenix Suns: Top free agent targets when free agency period begins
6. Jerami Grant
With ESPN’s momentous and highly anticipated 10-part docuseries The Last Dance premiering Sunday, basketball fans will get a stark reminder of how crucial Michael Jordan’s Bulls teammate Horace Grant was (vintage goggles and all) to their success. A key fixture in several of the team’s deep title runs and three championships, Horace’s greatness will again be encapsulated throughout the program’s duration.
Remnants of his gene pool though, are still blessing basketball fans’ eyes in today’s pro-basketball landscape, and the long-standing Grant legacy has worn on through the play of the current generation’s Grant incarnations: Jerami and Jerian.
Horace’s nephews both carved out nice nichés for themselves in the league for some time, but with the latter currently serving a stint in the G League after being released by the Orlando Magic, it’s clear the former has had the better faring of the two up to this point.
Jerami Grant is an uber-athletic stretch four with adequate ball-handling skills, a gaping long stride, post-up ability and a polished 3-ball. His posterizing dunks alone have created enough film for a specified highlight reel.
But the eldest Grant has few weaknesses in his overall game, and while his playing time fell off upon his arrival in Denver due to slotting in at a backup role behind Paul Millsap, he’s seen substantial increases in his 3-point shooting efficiency (40.0 percent), and free throw percentage (74.4).
He has a player option built into the 3-year, $27.3 million deal he signed with Oklahoma City back in 2018 that allows him to re-up with the Nuggets next season, although open-market waters may command a significantly higher lump-sum in his checkbook for a proven forward of his caliber.
Much awaits to be seen in terms of a potential incumbent bidding war, and Phoenix has the wiggle-room to be an enticing wooer, but Grant himself holds the greatest of cards when it comes to his future endeavors within the league.