Report: Expect Denver to pay up and re-sign Jerami Grant

Jerami Grant made himself some money in the bubble.

While Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray were drawing the headlines, Grant was critical as their best perimeter defender, plus he was scoring 11.6 points a game, he was a threat in transition and from three. He was critical for Denver’s comebacks against Utah and the Los Angeles Clippers.

It just so happens Jerami Grant is a free agent this offseason. While other teams will show interest, the Nuggets history shows they take care of their own in situations like this, as they did with Jamal Murray a year ago, points out Mike Singer at the Denver Post.

“When we can, we take care of our own,” [Team president Tim] Connelly said. “And we do it with a smile on our face, and we do it cognizant of how it could affect the relationship both short- and long-term. Certainly we could’ve taken a different approach. ‘Go prove it, go earn it.’ We thought he had already earned it.

“… You can be a bit too cute at times if you don’t take care of the guys that have gotten you here.”

Singer also wrote in a Q&A he expects the Nuggets to re-sign Grant.

I think there’s a very good chance the Nuggets retain Jerami Grant for a few reasons. First of all, their cap situation is such that they wouldn’t be able to sign a player of his caliber from the free agent pool. Secondly, the Nuggets know how valuable Grant is, particularly in the Western Conference... I think both sides are motivated to reach a deal somewhere in the neighborhood of four years for $64 million. That’s just an educated guess.

It sounds about right, even if the Nuggets would like that number to be a little lower. Unless another team comes in over the top — and while Grant is good, he’s not “let’s blow our cap space up” good — expect a deal to get done.