Jerian Grant had the final year of his rookie contract to prove he could be a contributing player. It did not go well as the Orlando Magic moved on.
The rookie contract each first-round pick gets can become a series of second chances. These cost-controlled contracts tend to make teams think they are getting a discount on talent. But obviously not every pick in the first round works. Some of those 30 players find the wrong situation and some of those 30 players are just not as good as teams thought when they drafted them.
Jerian Grant seemed to have a world of talent to at least carve out a role as a backup point guard after a solid career with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
He was good at controlling the pace of the game, driving into the lane and using his size to defend. Jerian Grant was not going to blow anyone away with much, but he would be solid with a lot of his skills and provide stability for second units.
That was the bet throughout the early parts of his career. And it was a bet that both the New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls felt unsatisfied with. Grant showed flashes of scoring and playmaking, but it still felt like he had a steep learning curve to fulfill even those modest expectations.
The Orlando Magic, desperate for some point guard play, acquired him in their salary dump of Bismack Biyombo. They were willing to take a flyer on Grant and give him that last chance on his rookie contract.
They inserted him into that backup point guard role. And individually, Grant seemed to play fine. He played as well as he has throughout his career, producing the same kind of numbers teams have expected from him. His 3-point shooting was his career best.
That seemed to be exactly what he was missing from his game. This should have been the impact the Magic needed to see from him.
But it was not at all like that. Grant could never get the second unit moving. He operated a bit too slowly for a team that had a lot of wings wanting to run and a flamethrower in Terrence Ross who needed pace to create rhythm.
Grant’s defense was never enough to make up for what he took away on offense. And his own play was hardly difference-making on that end.
And so he eventually drifted away and out of the rotation. The Magic picked up steam with him out of the lineup. The rest was history.