After completing a near All-Star level campaign in 2020-21, Detroit Pistons power forward Jerami Grant is looking to take the next step into stardom this upcoming season.
Last offseason, Grant left the contending Denver Nuggets in search of a team that would provide him with a larger role offensively. It did not take long for him to find a new home. In his first offseason as Pistons general manager, Troy Weaver brought in the then 26-year-old Grant to a three-year contract.
Grant’s three-year deal was worth a little over $60 million. The now 27-year-old’s average annual salary is roughly $20 million per season. At the time of this signing, Grant was still considered nothing more than a high-end role player. The national media saw the signing as a major overpay, despite the fact that Denver was willing to match Detroit’s offer.
In the first game of the season, Grant got off to a rough start. The Syracuse product scored just nine points off of 11 shots. He also sank only one of his five three-point attempts. After game one, the critics and naysayers appeared to be right about Grant taking on a larger role in Detroit. But the 27-year-old would quickly turn those criticisms on their heads.
Over the next 23 games, Grant went on a tear, averaging 25 points per game while shooting 45.5 percent from the floor and 40.1 percent from beyond the arc. The forward also grabbed 5.7 rebounds per game, dished out three assists per game, and blocked 1.2 shots per game during that stretch as well.
But as the season wore on, the offensive load on Grant began to wear on him. There was no Nikola Jokic to help shoulder the load, and 23 games into the season, Detroit traded their sixth-man and second-leading points per game scorer, Derrick Rose, to the New York Knicks. Three games later Blake Griffin played his final game with the Pistons as he and the franchise would seek out a trade and eventual buy-out moving forward.
The departure’s of Griffin and Rose placed a heavy offensive burden on Grant’s shoulders. The 27-year-old quickly became the unquestionable first option on Detroit’s roster. After Rose and Griffin were removed from Detroit’s rotation, that added pressure showed in Grant’s play.
The seventh-year wing saw more double-teams and defensive pressure rotated mainly to stop him from getting to the basket. Besides rookie small forward Saddiq Bey, Grant did not have a reliable scorer alongside him for much of the season following the departures of Griffin and Rose.
The added defensive pressure and extended offensive burden caused Grant’s efficiency to dip. The 27-year-old would finish off the season averaging 22.3 points 4.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.1 blocks.
Grant had his lowest efficiency since his days as a youngster with the Process-era Philadelphia 76ers, as he finished the season shooting 42.9 percent from the floor. Grant also had his worst three-point shooting season since the 2017-18 season, as he finished the season shooting 35 percent from three-point range.
Despite his numbers falling off since his initial hot start to the season, Grant was still a finalist for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award. He would finish second, falling short to Knicks power forward Julius Randle.
Grant was in the conversation for an All-Star selection this past season as well. It would have been the 27-year-old’s first selection, had he been named to the team. But Grant would fall short of being selected.
Now, coming off of a Gold Medal victory with the United States Olympic team, and returning to a Pistons roster that has seen much improvement over the offseason, Grant is poised to make another push for an All-Star nod this upcoming season.
It is undeniable that Grant will need to take another step forward in his play this season in order to make an All-Star team. But Grant now has the right cast around him, to boost him further into the All-Star conversation.
Detroit Pistons: Cade Cunningham will ease the offensive pressure off Jerami Grant
The major addition to Detroit’s roster this offseason was former Oklahoma State point guard Cade Cunningham.
The consensus top prospect in the 2021 NBA Draft, Cunningham was the top selection for Detroit after the team moved up in the Draft Lottery to the number one pick.
The 19-year-old Cunningham joins Grant as a 1a, 1b type of scoring duo. This addition provides Grant with a true second primary scoring option to play with. This will be the first time Grant has had such a player since Rose was traded to the Knicks back in early February.
Cunningham will take much of the offensive burden off of Grant this upcoming season. Grant will no longer be the sole target defenses rotate to stoping on every offensive possession for Detroit.
The 6-8 point guard was a great scorer at the collegiate level. Cunningham scored 20.1 points per game while shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc in his lone season as an Oklahoma State Cowboy.
Cunningham is an adept scorer at all three levels. He also possesses a playmaking ability that would pair very nicely with Grant as well. The two stars would make for a very nice pick-and-roll duo in the NBA.
Assuming Cunningham’s shooting ability translates to the next level fairly quickly, he and Grant would be very dynamic on pick-and-rolls and pick-and-pops.
While Grant had a down year in terms of three-point efficiency, the 27-year-old is a proven above-average shooter from beyond the arc. He also possesses a cutting ability that makes him a serious lob threat and a versatile pick-and-roll screener.
The duo of Grant and Cunningham will make Detroit’s offense much more dynamic than it was during the previous season (not that it would take much). Grant is no longer going to have to shoulder all of the offensive load for Detroit this upcoming season.
As Cunningham alleviates some of the defensive pressure that Grant will face next season, the power forwards shooting efficiency should see a major improvement. Grant will face fewer double teams and will, likewise, be afforded more space to operate on isolations. The 6-foot-9 Grant will have a great playmaker and secondary scorer to play alongside as well.
This reduced pressure points towards Grant having a much more efficient 2021-22 season. Efficiency was one of the major knocks on Grant’s bid for an All-Star selection last season. Improving his shooting numbers should help the 27-year-old, make the strides necessary to making an All-Star team this year.
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.
Detroit Pistons: Jerami Grant’s All-Star bid is still an uphill battle
If all goes right for Jerami Grant this upcoming season, his push for a spot on the All-Star team will still be an uphill battle.
With only eight potential spots available to frontcourt players in the Eastern Conference on the All-Star team, Grant will have to outplay many established stars and rising stars to get in.
Breaking into the starting five is practically impossible. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, and Jayson Tatum will have the starting frontcourt spots locked up for Eastern Conference Players.
That leaves five spots left for Grant to potentially grab. Under the NBA’s All-Star selection rules, three of those five spots have to be frontcourt players while the remaining two could be players of any position.
Grant will be competing with the likes of Joel Embiid, Julius Randle, Domantas Sabonis, Nikola Vučević, Ben Simmons (maybe), Demar DeRozan, Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Pascal Siakam, and Khris Middleton, just to name a few.
Along with the competition for All-Star roster spots, Grant will also have to overcome being on a team that will still not be particularly good. He will also not have the added benefit of being a new breakout star in the league either. Grant’s push for an All-Star selection last season was greatly benefitted by the fact that he was a MIP candidate.
Ultimately, Grant’s bid for an All-Star selection this upcoming season is likely to yet again fall short. Everything could go right for the 27-year-old, and it is still a longshot he cracks the reserve spots.
But while not impossible, it remains unlikely. But if Grant can improve on his already good play from last season, he and the Pistons will certainly be heading in the right direction for years to come.