The Houston Rockets are signing veteran guard Jerian Grant to a one-year contract, per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
Grant was the No. 19 overall pick in the 2015 draft after playing four seasons in college at Notre Dame. Now 28 years old, the 6-foot-4 guard has averaged 6.1 points (32.3% on 3-pointers) and 2.9 assists in 17.9 minutes per game over his five seasons to date in the NBA.
Grant’s 2019-20 season was limited to just six games. In two of his last three years with a larger sample, he shot 36.4% and 36.6% on 3-pointers.
Grant has plenty of family connections to the NBA, per Feigen:
Grant’s brother, Jerami, signed with the Pistons last week after a breakthrough season with the Nuggets. They are the son of former NBA player Harvey Grant and nephews of former Bulls and Magic star Horace Grant.
Rockets reach agreement with guard Jerian Grant https://t.co/sEmYytNyvK
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) December 1, 2020
The Rockets will be Grant’s fifth NBA franchise, joining the New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic, and Washington Wizards.
In Houston, Grant will attempt to earn a roster spot with a strong showing in the team’s upcoming training camp for the 2020-21 season. The team’s hope is for Grant to potentially replace Austin Rivers as a reserve guard behind All-Star starters Russell Westbrook and James Harden. Like Rivers, Grant should bring capable ball-handling ability and defensive length to the role, along with a solid (but not great) shot from 3-point range.
Financial terms of the one-year contract were not disclosed, but with the Rockets subject to a hard salary cap after the sign-and-trade acquisition of Christian Wood, it’s almost certainly a veteran’s minimum salary. The question is how much money (if any) in the deal is guaranteed.
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