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Though the media may often look to spark controversies from nothing, when it comes to the relationship between New York Knicks guards Evan Fournier and Quentin Grimes, it appears nearly impossible to spin things in a negative light.
Even with the competition between the two for the starting shooting guard position this season, they’ve seemingly managed to stay close throughout training camp.
In fact, during a post-practice press conference on October 10, Grimes was rather open about his relationship with his veteran teammate and even stated that though his foot injury hindered his chances of competing for a starting nod in the backcourt, ultimately he believes that Fournier earned the job.
“[Tom Thibodeau] said ‘you gotta come in and earn it,’ and that’s what I kind of expected going into training camp but then I kind of got hurt. So that kind of derailed that,” Grimes told reporters.
“But I feel like he earned it. He was the guy that I had to come in and beat out and I had to prove myself. I just didn’t get the opportunity to do that. But, Evan’s been my guy since day one, since I got here. He’s been teaching me stuff since last year.”
Soon after these words of praise from the sophomore surfaced, Fournier posted a candid picture to his Instagram story on October 11 of him and Grimes laughing together at practice, with the image sporting a caption that read “My young sniper.”
Of course, though the duo certainly seems to be in good spirits about how Tom Thibodeau’s rotation for the upcoming season is shaping up, this is not to say that those who reside outside of the locker room are happy about it.
MSG Analyst Urged Knicks to Start Grimes
This offseason, it was reported that despite New York’s strong interest in pursuing a blockbuster to land perennial All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, the ball club was rather reluctant to include Grimes in any possible outbound packages, and even went as far as to include franchise centerpiece, RJ Barrett, into the discussion instead of him.
Of course, in the end, these pursuits and trade talks for Mitchell were all for naught, as the 26-year-old ended up being dealt to the Cleveland Cavaliers on September 1.
It didn’t take long for Knicks fans and media pundits to slam the franchise for their failed attempt to acquire the star, with many stating that the front office could easily have offered up a better package than the one Utah ultimately received.
And a few days after the initial storm commenced, MSG analyst Alan Hahn took to Twitter and said that the team must now insert Grimes into the starting lineup over Fournier, especially because the front office seemed to be so high on him during the blockbuster discussions.
On September 4, Hahn would go into greater detail on his Facebook page about why he believes Grimes would be the ideal choice over Fournier in the starting lineup for the Knicks in 2022-23.
“Grimes has the size and defensive potential that would be more effective next to Brunson in the backcourt than Evan Fournier,” Hahn wrote. “Yes, Fournier has the contract and the veteran status, but fit-wise, I’d be curious to see Grimes in that role and see if he can handle it. Fournier could be effective as a bench scorer with three-point shooting that is needed with that group and also versatile enough to play either wing spot with the starters when called upon.”
Selected 25th overall by the New York Knicks in the 2021 NBA Draft, Grimes saw in-game action on 46 occasions during his rookie season and ended with averages of 17.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 2.0 steals per 100 possessions on 38.1% shooting from distance.
NBA Star Praises Knicks Big
During the third period of their preseason game against the Indiana Pacers on October 7, Knicks big man Obi Toppin pulled off a highly impressive between-the-legs dunk on a fast-break sparked by his block on Kendall Brown.
The highlight quickly made its way around the internet, where it was eventually seen by Charlotte Hornets star point guard LaMelo Ball, who took to Twitter to praise the third-year pro for his play.
Outside of this ferocious slam, Toppin had himself an all-around tremendous showing during New York’s second preseason outing, finishing the night with a stellar stat-line of 24 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 blocks on 71.4% shooting from the floor and 57.1% shooting from deep.
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