The powers that be surrounded Jerian Grant, one of the most intriguing players in this year’s NBA draft.
Nuggets president Josh Kroenke and general manager Tim Connelly chatted him up after predraft workouts Friday that featured a number of players hoping to be drafted early in the first round.
Other notables in the workouts at the Pepsi Center were Wisconsin wing Sam Dekker and Kentucky shooting guard Devin Booker.
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Grant is in the tier of point guards after D’Angelo Russell and Emmanuel Mudiay, who are expected to be the first two point guards drafted June 25. Ty Lawson’s status with the Nuggets is on shaky ground, so they could need a point guard. And the next two best players on the draft board are believed to be Murray State’s Cameron Payne and Grant, who is projected to go in the middle of the first round. The Nuggets have the No. 7 pick.
Grant’s experience — he played four years at Notre Dame — and ability to run a pick-and-roll offense are appealing to NBA scouts.
“Being 22, I can definitely get better,” Grant said, “but I feel like I’m more ready right now than other players in the draft. Pick-and-roll, that’s what I do best. And I think that’s what the NBA has really evolved to.”
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If you’re a basketball fan, you’re familiar with Grant’s father, Harvey, and uncle, Horace. Both played in the NBA as power forwards. Jerian’s brother, Jerami, played in 65 games for the Philadelphia 76ers this past season. So high-level basketball runs deep in their family.
The advice given by the elder Grants was “just to compete,” Jerian said. “Compete and be professional.”
Grant’s height (6-foot-4) is a plus at the position even if his weight (198 pounds) raises questions about durability and the ability to hold his own against stronger players in the NBA. Grant said his best attribute is his ability to get his teammates involved. He averaged 16.5 points and 6.7 assists for the Fighting Irish as a senior. He had 15 points and six assists in Notre Dame’s two-point loss to Kentucky in the Elite Eight.
“Playmaking is something every team can use,” he said. “And I think I’m one of the best playmakers in the draft. I think that translates to whatever team I’m on.”
Christopher Dempsey: cdempsey@denverpost.com or
