#19 – Washington Wizards: Jerian Grant

With the 19th pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, the Washington Wizards selected Notre Dame point guard Jerian Grant. The Wizards subsequently traded Grant to the New York Knicks as a part of a three-team deal with the Atlanta Hawks.

The Knicks have been searching for an answer at the point guard position for several seasons, and the soon-to-be 23-year-old can hit the floor ready to go for head coach Derek Fisher and his staff. The 6’5 lead guard averaged 16.5 points on 47.8 percent shooting from the field, while dishing out 6.6 assists for the Fighting Irish as a senior.

Son of former NBA player Harvey Grant, Jerian’s greatest attribute may be his court-vision and willingness to find the open man. The Knicks ranked just 19th in assists per game in 2014-15, and Grant’s playmaking ability should really come in handy for a team still guilty of resorting to isolation basketball a bit too often as elements of the Triangle offense proved difficult for last year’s roster to adapt to.

As a larger guard, he’s seen as an ideal fit for the triangle offense, but could stand to improve from beyond-the-arc. Grant shot just 31.6 percent from deep as a senior on 4.2 attempts per contest.