NBA Media Day always brings up interesting storylines throughout the league, but perhaps no story was wilder than one told by Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick about free agent addition Quentin Grimes.
When speaking to Spectrum SportsNet in a Media Day interview, Redick revealed that he had previous experience with Grimes, which included the player accidentally committing a crime.
Grimes is expected to be the starting small forward for the Lakers this season, set to join Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and Walker Kessler in the lineup after signing a four-year, $60 million deal in free agency to become the fourth-highest -paid player on the roster.
JJ Redick Says Quentin Grimes Accidentally Committed A Crime
When asked about Grimes in an interview, Redick retold a wild story about an interaction the two had a few years ago when the player was still a member of the New York Knicks.
As the Lakers coach recounted, he allowed Grimes to work out at his Long Island house while he was out playing golf.
“So I give him the [address], and I tell him where the key is to get in,” Redick said. “I said, ‘When you walk in, there’s a first-floor bedroom. There’s a second-floor bedroom. Make yourself at home. There’s a gym down in the basement. Everything you need.’ Very clear.”
JJ Redick talks with @geeter3, @DGreen_14 and @JamesWorthy42 at #LakersMediaDay #Lakers
However, there must have been a slight misunderstanding, as Grimes went into the wrong house and accidentally entered someone else’s property without knowing it.
“I go on his Instagram, and he’s posted a picture from another house in my neighborhood of the pool, with the hashtag ‘Hamptons Life’ or something like that. So I tell him, ‘Where the (expletive) are you, dude?'” Redick recounted. “They had gone into one of my neighbors’ homes and gone into their guest house.”
But despite the accidental crime committed by Grimes going into the wrong house unannounced, as Redick said, it didn’t lead to any other unfortunate circumstances or misunderstandings involving those two or anyone else.
JJ saw Quentin’s IG story of the pool that day and asked him “Where the f are you” 😭
“We took him out to dinner that night with my kids and my wife, and we had a nice time,” the Lakers coach added. “Then we were going to the gym the next morning, and we were traveling separately, so my wife called me at eight o’clock in the morning. She says, ‘How do we ensure that our kids grow up to be like Quentin?'”
What a start to Grimes’ tenure on the Lakers, as his new coach didn’t do him any favors by telling that story at media day.
Lakers Free Agent Addition Has A Big Role
By all accounts, Grimes is expected to be the starting small forward for the Lakers next season.
At a previous press conference, Redick explained that he hadn’t fully committed to who will be the two starting forwards in the lineup, and though Grimes is likely to be penciled into that role soon enough, the Lakers player said he’s ready to battle for the spot.
“Quentin Grimes said he 100 percent wants to start. Said he wants to fight and to earn a starting spot,” Lakers reporter Dan Woike of The Athletic wrote in a post on X from media day.
However, by signing Grimes to a four-year, $60 million deal to become the fourth-highest-paid player on the team, there’s an expectation he’ll take the leap he hasn’t done so far in his NBA career.
As Collin Keane wrote for LakeShowLife.com, Grimes needs to step up on both sides of the floor to become the true 3-and-D wing the Lakers expect him to be this season.
“The Los Angeles Lakers gave Quentin Grimes a $60 million contract this summer to be the type of player he’s never been in his career; not consistently, anyway. It’s arguably the biggest risk that Lakers GM Rob Pelinka is sweating over entering 2026-27,” he wrote.
“In this sense, Grimes is holding the reins of the Lakers’ wing play in 2026-27. If he isn’t who the Lakers are paying him to become, LA won’t accomplish big things next season, and that’s that,” Keane continued. “So much rests on Grimes’ shoulders this season, and he’s never carried this sort of responsibility. Had the Lakers gone out and acquired another starter-level wing like Jonathan Kuminga, Grimes wouldn’t be as consequential. But here we are. It’s tough to feel overly optimistic about the situation, but maybe this is when Grimes will put it all together.”
Grimes put up 13.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 0.9 steals on 45/33.4/84 shooting splits, mostly coming off the bench for the Philadelphia 76ers last season, but the Lakers will need more out of him.
The forward had a surprising start to his Lakers career after Redick brought up the accidental home break-in story, but Grimes has a chance to prove himself as one of the best offseason additions in the NBA if he can have a career year in Los Angeles.
Quentin Grimes Committed A Crime Before Joining Lakers, JJ Redick Says