Without saying much, Jerami Grant said plenty. He grinned and nodded when when asked if he knows which players were taken before him when he was drafted 39th overall in 2014 and said, "I'm not going to name names." It wasn't by mistake that Grant wore No. 39 his first three years in the league with the 76ers.
"It kind of helped remind me where I was," Grant said as he prepares for his second season with the Pistons. "I always thought I was better than where I got drafted."
If that wasn't clear before last season, it sure is now. Grant exploded in his first year with Detroit and finished second to Julius Randle of the Knicks for the NBA's Most Improved Player. He took a bigger role and turned it into 22.3 points per game and eventually a spot on the U.S. Olympic team, an opportunity that Grant said wouldn't have materialized had he not joined the Pistons.
"Not at all," he said. "I think my decision to come to Detroit and showcase the talents that I haven't been able to showcase before definitely helped me get picked for that."
Grant's growth last season makes you wonder what's next. He's 27 years old, a bit like self-proclaimed "middle child" Josh Jackson on a roster featuring a bunch of youngsters and a few vets. He also feels like an overlooked star surrounded by No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham, former No. 7 pick Killian Hayes and All-Rookie selections Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart. But Grant won't go overlooked in the Pistons' offense.
Even with the addition of Cunningham and the re-introduction of Hayes, Dwane Casey said that Grant's role will remain the same this season. Last season, he accounted for more than a quarter of Detroit's field goal attempts per game.
"He’s still going to be a high usage guy for us," Casey said this week. "He’s going to be our primary scorer, our go-to scorer in go-to situations."
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Grant said he spent a lot of time this summer working on his ball-handling, knowing how often the ball will be in his hands. Same for his play-making. He also said he worked on his rebounding, and that will be key. Grant grabbed just 4.6 boards per game last season, an area where the Pistons struggled as a team. So that's what's next for him, as far as Casey is concerned.
"I think his major challenge will be rebounding, adding rebounding to his game," said Casey. "We can’t expect Isaiah to get all the rebounds, or Kelly (Olynyk), so we really gotta have some rebounding from our other front-line players. That’s one area where he can really pick up, and he knows that. But it’s an opportunity for him to take the next step, which is providing winning plays, which he will.
"The usage, I don’t know how much more we can utilize him as far as the offense is concerned. But the rebounding would be huge."
Grant's chemistry with Cunningham will be interesting to watch. The rookie figures to ease some of Grant's offensive burden, and Grant sounds happy to share it. He said he's eager to get on the court with a 20-year-old who "thinks and moves a lot older than his age."
"Obviously he’s great with the ball, he’s great at playmaking, he’s great at scoring the ball, so to have someone else like that on the team is great," Cunningham said. "I think it’ll be seamless, honestly. Very unselfish player and very talented, so looking forward to it."
Grant wears No. 9 now, his favorite number growing up. But he still uses No. 39 as motivation, a constant reminder that he wouldn't amount to much. He amounted to a star in his first season with the Pistons, and maybe he'll be an All-Star in his second. Grant said "that would be great." It depends as much (maybe more) on the team's growth as his own.
"I think if we win more games, then everything else follows," said Grant. "Just want to continue to build on what I did last year and what we did last year, as a team and an organization. But I think the more wins we get, the easier it is to have those conversations."