The Los Angeles Lakers took a risk this offseason by signing free agent Quentin Grimes to a four-year, $60 million contract to make him the fourth-highest-paid player on the team and put him in the biggest role of his career so far.
Grimes, 26, is expected to fill the starting small forward position for the Lakers this year, and while the signing was immediately met with some concerns, the early returns on the wing are positive.
Speaking after the Lakers’ preseason loss to the Golden State Warriors, head coach JJ Redick went out of his way to make some remarks on Grimes, who is poised for a leap in Los Angeles this season.
JJ Redick Likes What He Sees From Quentin Grimes
Though the Lakers lost to the Warriors by 28 points in what wasn’t a very competitive contest, Grimes finished the night with 12 points, one rebound, and three assists in 23 minutes in what was a pretty solid showing for one of Los Angeles’ biggest free agent additions this summer.
After the defeat, Redick said he believes Grimes is coming into form and will be a big contributor in the rotation this season.
“I think he’s a guy that, if needed, can create some advantages and for that second side action can finish advantages offensively,” Redick said.
Grimes can’t necessarily be considered a top-tier 3-and-D wing considering his 33.4% shooting percentage from deep last season, but he’s had several years at the 38% mark, meaning he could get back to that shooting from this year with the Lakers. He scored 13.4 points per game last year with the Philadelphia 76ers, and is coming off a few of the best scoring seasons of his career.
Additionally, as Redick said, Grimes will play a big role on the defensive end of the floor, as that was an area of the game Los Angeles was looking to upgrade this summer.
“I think his commitment to the defensive end has been really good throughout camp and in these first two games. We’re excited about him,” he added.
Still, the Lakers coach remained noncommittal about where Grimes stands in the rotation, despite the positive reviews on the new $60 million player through two preseason games.
“That’s undecided,” he stated. “I think we have really good depth with those wings, if everybody’s healthy. So we’ll figure that out. We still have two more weeks, whatever it is, till opening night. So there’s still time.”
Grimes has a chance to be a huge piece for the Lakers this season alongside Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and Walker Kessler. It’ll likely be the biggest 3-and-D role of his career, but in what is good news for the franchise, Redick likes what he’s seen so far.
Lakers Coach Still Critical After Loss To Warriors
Despite his praise for Grimes after his showing against Golden State, Redick still made it clear that there’s a lot of room to grow for the team as a whole.
After the blowout loss playing without their star trio, the coach was critical about how the rest of the players performed against a Warriors team with far lower expectations this season.
“The way we started that game was insane,” he said. “I don’t know the reasons why, because this group has been awesome for the two months I’ve been around them. The first half was unacceptable.”
“I’ve had a handful of these games where you’re missing star players and a lot of your depth. I still expect to win and I still expect us to play to our standards…That first half did not meet my expectations and I let them know that — You can still hold them accountable. And I do think they respond.”
Along with his praise for Grimes, Redick singled out Adou Thiero and Jake LaRavia for each having solid performances.
Questions around the Lakers roster and rotation remain, and though these preseason games are supposed to be used to answer the lingering uncertainties heading into the regular season, Redick clearly wasn’t satisfied with the Tuesday night showing by his team.
Still, if the early returns on Grimes are good, that’s positive news for the Lakers. It’s still only the preseason, and though he hasn’t played alongside Doncic, Reaves, and Kessler in a competitive setting just yet, the wing getting off to a good start to his tenure in Los Angeles is one positive to take away from the loss.
The Lakers’ next preseason game comes against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday, October 8.
Lakers Get Good News As $60M 3-And-D Wing ‘Has Been Really Good’