Re-Drafting the 2014 NBA Draft

Jerami Grant. 26. player. 110. <p><strong>Original pick: P.J. Hairston (traded to Charlotte)</strong></p> <p>Because he played the past two seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers, most of the NBA world isn’t terribly familiar with Jerami Grant. In fact, he was a <em>back-up</em> on the team that no one wanted to watch, leaving his NBA profile as a mystery to some degree.</p> <p>Grant, who stands at 6-foot-8 and 210 pounds, presents a variety of positive things, with most of them coming on the defensive end. He is an engaged shot-blocker, averaging 2.2 swats per 36 minutes when he plays, and Grant combines that with a nice steal rate of 1.4% to highlight his activity as a mobile big man. Though his size may suggest a future at small forward, Grant is almost certainly a power forward given his lack of range as a shooter, and because he can protect the rim, that comes in handy.</p> <p>As noted above, his offense is greatly limited by a sub-par jump shot, but Grant is very raw and athletic, leaving some room for encouragement. It would be very interesting to see how he would function with a more stable roster around him, and in Miami under this theoretical guise, Grant would get that opportunity.</p> <p>There is a scenario in which this is (way) too low for Grant and it would be fun to see him realize his upside.</p>. PF. Syracuse