By Jordan Long
The Denver Nuggets made the Western Conference Finals for the 1st time since 2009. Even though they lost in 5 games to the L.A. Lakers, Denver looks to improve in the offseason to advance even deeper next year. One of their main pieces they would like to keep is forward Jerami Grant.
Grant was acquired by the Denver Nuggets on July 8th, 2019. Denver hoped he was going to improve their bench play, not only in the regular season but the playoffs. Grant appeared in 71 games and started 24 of them. He helped Denver on both sides of the court. On offense, he averaged 12 points and 1.2 assists per game. Grant was one of the better Nuggets 3 point shooters and made 38.9% of his shots from downtown.
On defense, he guarded his man down low in the paint. When Grant needed to switch to a different player he was able to. The best part of his defensive game was rebounding. Grant boxed out and didn’t allow an opponent to grab a rebound, averaging 3.5 rebounds per game.
In the postseason run for the Nuggets, Grant started 16 of 19 playoff games. In those appearances, he scored 11.6 points and added 1.3 assists per game. He wasn’t as effective from the 3 point line, shooting 32.6% but Grant still averaged 3.3 rebounds per game.
Grant is expected to become a free agent and opt-out of his current deal. It has a little over $9 million and 1 year left on it. There are plenty of teams who are expressing interest in him, including the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns. Dallas could make sense for Grant. Dallas has Kristaps Porzingis as their starting power forward. After him is Dwight Powell. Powell played well this year for Porzingis with 9.4 points per game but can’t make the 3 point shots. He made 25.6% from the three-point line. Grant is a much better player since he can shoot anywhere on the court. Dallas might make a run for Grant but the Nuggets are in a better position for a championship run than Dallas.
The Suns were close to making the postseason last year but missed out by 1 game. Grant could even start for the Suns. Their power forwards are Frank Kaminsky and Cheick Diallo. Grant’s game is better than both of them. The difference between Denver, Dallas, and Phoenix is the Suns are still rebuilding to become a playoff team while Dallas and Denver are postseason teams.
Denver wants to keep Grant. Grant would like nothing more than to stay in Denver. It is going to come down to money and where he feels the best fit is going to be. If he wants to be part of a championship team for years to come, the choice is easy, Denver. The Nuggets are going to keep building an NBA contender for years to come with Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic as the core. Grant should want to be part of it. The market could decide where Grant ends up.
Leave a Reply