Houston Rockets 2014 NBA Draft: Jerami Grant Player Profile

Mar 20, 2014; Buffalo, NY, USA; Syracuse Orange forward Jerami Grant (3) dunks over Western Michigan Broncos center Shayne Whittington (21) in the second half of a men

Ideally, the Houston Rockets would add another prospect at the 4-spot in this draft. But small forward is equally worth shoring up in the event that the Rockets are unable to retain the services of Chandler Parsons. Parsons’ value has continually increased and he’s likely to command in excess of $10 million per season when he becomes a free agent.

Acquiring Jerami Grant of Syracuse would give Daryl Morey an interesting swingman to develop.

NBADraft.net has Grant going 16th overall to Chicago, but DraftExpress has Grant falling into the Rockets lap at pick No. 25. NBADraft.net gives an NBA comparison of Thaddeus Young, and that’s an appropriate label.

Like the Sixers tweener, the 6’8″ Grant will be able to moonlight at the power forward position when the Rockets play small ball. He has an excellent basketball body with a 7’2” wingspan and 8’11” standing reach. Grant would be very effective in transition, which is important in Kevin McHale’s offense. He finishes well around the basket and is resourceful. By all means, Grant would quickly be an upgrade over Francisco Garcia.

In some senses, Grant would be a redundancy of the talents of Terrence Jones, but the prototypical power forward may not necessarily be best with Dwight Howard at center. The Orlando Magic thrived with Rashard Lewis and Ryan Anderson at power forward alongside Howard. Grant and Jones would be an athletic tandem at the 3/4 spots to complement Howard, and certainly a lineup that offers a lot of athleticism and finishing ability.