Jerian Grant was drafted to potentially be the future of the point guard position. The former Notre Dame star had a fan in Phil Jackson and arrived with the potential to start for the New York Knicks right away. Instead, Grant has been hot and cold all year and is spending more time on the bench than on the court. The rookie noted that things have not been easy this season.
When Kurt Rambis took over the New York Knicks, the first thing he told the media via Marc Berman of the New York Post was that Grant would be seeing less playing time in order to learn. Grant came into the league with high expectations and has struggled to meet them. To be fair, the point guard position as a whole has been struggling for the Knicks with Jose Calderon and Langston Galloway not looking the part. Now that Grant is sitting on the bench, he admits he is not happy.
"It's definitely tough," Grant said, via the New York Post. "I feel the best way to learn is to be out there playing, playing through mistakes, learning, getting a feel for it. But they are doing a better job with me of showing me film, doing a lot of talking to me, explaining things. That helps, but the best way is definitely to be on the court."
While Grant sat on the bench during Monday's loss to the Toronto Raptors, new arrival Jimmer Fredette had the MSG crowd chanting his name. Having just been signed from the D-League, Fredette is under a lot of pressure to perform right away with just a 10-day contract to his name. Fredette entered the game with the Knicks losing badly and drilled a 3-point shot. Grant is one of the players that Fredette is battling for playing time as he told the media he is thriving under the pressure.
"You got to go out there and not worry about the pressure,'' Fredette said, via The Post. "Just play free. It's an opportunity and chance to show your skills. You hope to stay around as long as you can. Ten days is far away from now.''
Carmelo Anthony is hopeful that change comes quickly for New York. After making it clear he was not looking for a trade from the franchise, he certainly wants to be winning. The Knicks suffered yet another ugly loss when they fell to Toronto. Anthony is trying to remain faithful, but he admits that the coaching changes and lack of stability is hurting the franchise right now and he hopes it changes soon.
"It's been tough. It's challenging," Anthony said, via ESPN.com. "It's challenging to kind of stay strong and positive through all this. You can't control that. When you look at it, how many different coaches? Four different coaches. [A lot of] different players. I mean, that's a lot to go through."
