Stale offense and internal conflict cited by former OKC Thunder players
Jerami Grant:
This is a tough one given how beloved Jerami Grant is in OKC. As Rylan Stiles astutely pointed out when Grant arrived in OKC he was an underused and underdeveloped wing player. Each season he spent with the Thunder he improved, noticeably taking a big leap when he worked with Adrian Griffin (now with the Raptors).
We can debate whether his trade to the Nuggets was necessary or if Sam Presti got enough in return. What can’t be debated is Grant enters free agency this summer in a barren class. As such, Grant could become the most coveted free agent due to the combination of his age and talent. Will that result in some team overpaying for him – possibly.
When asked about what he’s most excited about playing in Denver this year, Jerami Grant cited “moving the ball.”
— Ryan Blackburn (@NBABlackburn) September 30, 2019
It will be a vastly different offense in Denver after Oklahoma City.
As far as the forward’s comments about the offense he took the third most shot attempts of the starters behind Westbrook and George and fourth most on the team (Dennis Schroder). Overall, his comments about the ball not moving are fair. Then again, is the reason the ball didn’t move because the superstars preferred to work in isolation? Or was it because Donovan didn’t preach ball and player movement?
| Season | Tm | G | MP | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | 2PA | 2P% | FTA | FT% | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | PHI | 65 | 21.2 | 5.4 | .352 | 2.4 | .314 | 3.0 | .383 | 3.0 | .591 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 6.3 |
| 2015-16 | PHI | 77 | 26.8 | 7.8 | .419 | 1.9 | .240 | 5.9 | .477 | 4.2 | .658 | 3.4 | 4.7 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 9.7 |
| 2016-17 | TOT | 80 | 19.1 | 4.1 | .463 | 1.5 | .371 | 2.7 | .514 | 1.8 | .612 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 5.5 |
| 2016-17 | PHI | 2 | 20.5 | 8.5 | .353 | 1.0 | .000 | 7.5 | .400 | 4.0 | .500 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 8.0 |
| 2016-17 | OKC | 78 | 19.1 | 4.0 | .469 | 1.5 | .377 | 2.5 | .523 | 1.8 | .619 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 5.4 |
| 2017-18 | OKC | 81 | 20.3 | 5.6 | .535 | 1.4 | .291 | 4.3 | .613 | 3.0 | .675 | 2.9 | 3.9 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 8.4 |
| 2018-19 | OKC | 80 | 32.7 | 10.3 | .497 | 3.7 | .392 | 6.6 | .555 | 2.8 | .710 | 4.0 | 5.2 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 13.6 |
| Career | 383 | 24.1 | 6.7 | .461 | 2.1 | .334 | 4.5 | .522 | 2.9 | .654 | 3.0 | 3.9 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 8.8 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/3/2019.
This season Grant is surrounded by arguably the deepest roster in the NBA. We’ll have to wait till season end to discover if he’s satisfied with his shot attempts and whether they result in scoring improvements or he ends up taking fewer shots and his numbers fall off as a result.
Jerami Grant on his trade from OKC to Denver: "I don’t think it was too difficult. There were some things going on in Oklahoma and they kind of got rid of a lot of different piece. For me it was almost good to get out of a sinking ship."
— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) October 1, 2019
Still, it was disappointing Grant felt the need to call the OKC Thunder a sinking ship.