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2015 NBA Summer League: Can Jerian Grant Succeed in the New York Knicks’ Triangle Offense?

By James Fitzgerald

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Jerian Grant has NBA basketball in his blood. His father Harvey and uncle Horace both had successful NBA careers. Therefore, nothing should be a surprise to him as he begins his NBA journey.

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Grant was taken with the 19th pick of the 2015 NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards, and then shipped to “The Big Apple” in a draft day deal to play with the New York Knicks.

While at Notre Dame, Grant made a serious run at winning the Naismith Award which is  given to the NCAA “College Player of the Year”, and was a consensus first-team All-American for the job he did in helping to lead Notre Dame during the 2014-15 season.

Notre Dame started the 2014-15 season unranked. But behind Grant, who averaged 16.5 points and 6.7 assists as a senior, the Fighting Irish finished the year with a 32-6 record, won the ACC Tournament, and advanced all the way to the “Elite Eight” where Jerian Grant’s last second three-point attempt could have offed Kentucky, but Notre Dame lost 68-66.

Jerian Grant understands how to play and excel in big time basketball, but is New York’s “Triangle Offense” the right fit for him to excel in the NBA?

Think about all the players that Phil Jackson has had playing point guard in the past as the architect of the “Triangle Offense” from his years in Chicago through his days in Los Angeles.

B.J. Armstrong, Steve Kerr, Ron Harper, and current New York Knicks’ head coach Derek Fisher, are just a few names that come to mind.

They really served as spot-up three-point shooters, or in Harper’s case, a veteran defensive stopper who could also shoot from deep. They did not necessarily need to bring the ball up and set the offense though they did occasionally.

But when it comes to Grant, he is not a knockdown three-point shooter. He shot 31.6% from the college three-point arc last season and 34.5% for his career from deep.

(Photo: Geoff Burke, USA TODAY Sports)

Jerian Grant does fit the preference of Phil Jackson when it comes to his perimeter personnel since Jackson likes big guards.

But when it comes to initiating offense, Grant can do that pretty well.

Grant is going to be able to come into New York with some understanding of what the Triangle entails. He can pick his uncle Horace Grant‘s brain for information since Horace played in the offense in Chicago.

What is going to give Jerian Grant the ability to be successful in this offense is the fact that he has speed. His speed allows him to be able to break defenses down so he can create for others as well as score the basketball.

He also plays solid defense and makes good decisions with the rock.

Coach Derek Fisher broke down why Jerian Grant is an ideal fit for their organization and the “Triangle Offense” in a newyorkpost.com article by Marc Berman.

"“We would not have drafted him where we drafted him if we didn’t think he could do a lot of the things we like our guards to do. You have to be able to shoot, handle, make good decisions, defend. It’s not just one or the other to play guard in our system. That’s what we like about Jerian. He’s a really good passer. I don’t know if people view that part of his game as a strength. His assist numbers were solid in college, but he’s a guy who can make plays for himself and other people. We like that about him.”"

Being groomed from Day 1 in the “Triangle Offense” is going to be a bonus for Jerian Grant, and the fact that New York shipped Tim Hardaway Jr. out to make room for Grant says they have confidence that his skill set is going to be a good fit.

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    • In the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League, Grant is averaging 11.3 points and 5.3 assists through three games. He is coming off of outplaying Lakers’ top pick D’Angelo Russell in guiding the Knicks to a 76-66 win on Monday night.

    Grant logged 28 minutes and finished with 10 points to go along with eight assists.

    He followed that output up with 12 points and four assists against Jahlil Okafor and the Philadelphia 76ers Tuesday night in an 84-81 Knicks win that moved New York to a 3-0 record in Vegas.

    The NBA is a league where you are going to need a point guard that is capable of competing on a night-to-night basis against the gauntlet of competition the position offers.

    At 6-foot-5, Grant is going to be able to use his speed and athleticism to compete against the onslaught of point guards that will be coming at him.

    So to answer the question of “can he succeed in the Knicks Triangle Offense?”, he has the tools and understanding of what he is getting into, so there is no reason why he should not succeed.

    If Jerian Grant can make it in New York, he can make it anywhere, right?

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