An underrated move from New York’s already underrated summer was the draft-night trade that landed them the rights to Jerian Grant. The Knicks were in dire need of a franchise point guard with Jose Calderon turning 34 last month and just one more year left on his deal, so they drafted Grant, a standout from Notre Dame, in hopes that he can fill the void left whenever Calderon eventually gets held up by Father Time.
He’s off to a pretty decent start with this slick no-look dish to Derrick Williams.
Now, before Knicks fans get too excited about one pass, we have to observe a few items of caution. First, as always, it’s preseason, a time when young players are bound to make a few highlight plays they won’t have the opportunity to perform in the regular season.
This seems like as good a time as any to show you this dunk he threw down, too.
Second, the Knicks were playing the Philadelphia 76ers, which isn’t actually as big of a caveat as the first issue. Because the Sixers, while godawful on offense last season, were actually surprisingly decent on defense, ranking 13 in points allowed per possession last season. Still, though, it’s the Sixers, who are among the worst teams in the league.
Lastly, the camera adds a good ten pounds of flair to Grant’s pass. It’s tracking him the entire way, so we don’t see Williams pop out all alone under basket. It looks like Grant conjured him out of thin air, but really, it’s just a nice display of his passing vision.
