Detroit Pistons: Will Jerami Grant be an NBA All-Star this season?

Detroit Pistons: Improved shooting will continue to lighten the load on Jerami Grant’s shoulders

Everyone knows Detroit was a poor outside shooting team last season. As a team, Detroit shot 35.1 percent from beyond the arc last season, 22nd in the NBA. The roster consisted of just five players who shot above 36 percent on at least two three-point attempts per game. Only two  shot above 40 percent from three and one of them, Wayne Ellington, is gone..

Three-point shooting was a major concern for Detroit heading into this offseason, and it is a concern that Weaver and the front office have definitely addressed.

Weaver brought in a plethora of shooters via the draft and free agency.

After taking Cunningham first overall, Weaver also selected shooters with two of his three second-round picks. Out of the University of Michigan, Isaiah Livers projects to be a solid combo forward with great floor spacing. The former Wolverine shot a career 41.2 percent from beyond the arc during his four-year collegiate career.

Former Iowa Hawkeye Luka Garza has shown potential to be a stretch big in the NBA. Garza showed his floor spacing during the Pistons’ Summer League games.

In free agency, the additions of Kelly Olynyk and Trey Lyles combined with resigning Frank Jackson, Cory Joseph, and Hamidou Diallo project to improve Detroit’s long-range shooting this upcoming season.

Olynyk is a proven reliable stretch big. Lyles has been a stretch four throughout his NBA career. Jackson was one of Detroit’s two above 40 percent sharpshooters. Joseph and Diallo were members of the five above 36 percent shooting club as well.

As a whole. Detroit appears to be a markedly better three-point shooting team his upcoming season. And Grant will benefit a lot from this.

Defenses will no longer be able to collapse on Grant when he is surrounded by much better shooting. Opponents will be faced with the decision to help off of a reliable shooter to double Grant, or stay home and let him go to work in isolation.

This improved shooting will help improve Grant’s efficiency but will also provide him with a great opportunity to improve his assist numbers. Teams will still opt to double the 6-8 wing on occasion, so having great shooters surrounding him will provide Grant reliable shooters for him to make outlet passes to.

Improving other box score numbers such as his assists will help Grant build a case for an All-Star selection. Increasing his assist numbers from 2.8 to say four is not an unrealistic possibility for him this upcoming season. If he can do that along with bringing in a couple more rebounds per game, Grant could be a potential lock for an All-Star selection.