9. Jerian Grant
- Age: 23 (Oct. 9)
- Contract: one year, $1.6 million; team option 2017-18, 2018-19
The two biggest things Jerian Grant has going for him are his age and his contract. The Bulls still have him under control for three years, which should give them time to figure what he is capable of in the NBA.
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Grant’s rookie year was a struggle for the most part, but it’s important not to put too much stock into his first season. Very few point guards come out and excel from day one.
His stats from his rookie season are fairly poor (5.6 PPG, 39% FG, 2.3 APG, 16.6 MPG). However, Grant did show some signs of life in the last 10 games of the season (9.9 PPG, 45.1 FG%, 2.8 APG, 23.8 MPG). Granted (no pun intended), it is a small sample size, but his numbers in the final 10 games were encouraging.
This guy was taken 19th overall in the draft two years ago for a reason. Sure, his rookie year was far from impressive, but there is still some potential there with Jerian Grant. There’s still reason to believe that Grant can some day turn into a quality rotation player, but he still has a long way to go.
Next: No. 8