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New York Knicks: Five reasons to trade for Jerian Grant

By Maxwell Ogden

WASHINGTON, DC -  JANUARY 10: Jerian Grant #2 of the Chicago Bulls handles the ball during the game against the Washington Wizards on January 10, 2017 at Verizon Center in Washington, DC. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC -  JANUARY 10: Jerian Grant #2 of the Chicago Bulls handles the ball during the game against the Washington Wizards on January 10, 2017 at Verizon Center in Washington, DC. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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SALT LAKE CITY, UT – NOVEMBER 17: Jerian Grant #2 of the Chicago Bulls passes the ball against the Utah Jazz on November 17, 2016 at vivint.SmartHome Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – NOVEMBER 17: Jerian Grant #2 of the Chicago Bulls passes the ball against the Utah Jazz on November 17, 2016 at vivint.SmartHome Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images) /

2. Team-First Mentality

The most appealing aspect of Jerian Grant’s game is how unselfish he is on both ends of the floor. He commits to defending without needing to be told twice, and is a willing passer who has shown a good eye for distributing the ball.

Whether or not Grant has the ability to lead the offense, his willingness to pass would fit well alongside projected facilitator Frank Ntilikina.

Grant finished his four-year college career with averages of 5.8 assists per game and 6.4 assists per 40 minutes. He averaged 5.0 assists per 36 minutes as an NBA rookie in 2015-16, and provided 4.2 assists per 36 minutes to the Chicago Bulls in 2016-17.

That may be a sign of a decline, but he produced 5.0 assists per 36 minutes over the course of the final 28 regular season games.

With Ntilikina already on the roster, the need for a No. 1 facilitator isn’t exactly pressing. What New York is missing, however, is a player who can alleviate pressure from Ntilikina and handle some of the workload as far as creating shots is concerned.

Grant can check that box and provide head coach Jeff Hornacek with the flexibility of utilizing multiple playmakers at the same or different times.

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