Ex-Knicks ‘Untouchable’ Quentin Grimes Breaks Silence on Trade to Pistons

Getty Former New York Knicks players RJ Barrett and Quentin Grimes.

Like Evan Fournier, Quentin Grimes also looks forward to a fresh start after getting traded from the contending New York Knicks to the rebuilding Detroit Pistons.

“For sure, I feel like every year I got the opportunity, whether it was guys out or summer league, stuff like that, everybody knows I can put the ball on the floor and make plays for myself and my teammates,” Grimes told Detroit reporters following their February 12 practice.

The once untouchable Grimes found himself changing address at the trade deadline as he became the latest victim of the Knicks’ accelerated timeline. Earlier, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley were traded for OG Anunoby.

Grimes fell out of Tom Thibodeau’s favor and was removed from the starting five after he publicly griped about his touches in December. Three months later, he became the headliner of the trade that landed Knicks veterans Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanovic.

In Detroit, Grimes will have more opportunities in a pressure-free environment.

“I feel like coming here with a new group of guys, I’m going to have the ball more,” Grimes said. “I talked to Coach [Monty] Williams already. Everybody knows me for my three-point shooting and defense, but I feel I can handle the ball and play off the ball. I can do a lot and contribute to winning.”

Grimes aims to bring what he learned under Thibodeau. But it will take time before he can experience what he had in New York with the lottery-bound Pistons.

“Bring that winning mindset that we had in New York, bring that over here, bring my competitiveness, my toughness, my edge, and do whatever I can to keep building the culture that coach Williams has started so far,” Grimes said.

Knicks Lost to Rockets on Controversial Call

The Knicks dropped to 0-2 since the trade, losing their third straight game following a controversial call which enabled the Houston Rockets to escape with a 105-103 win on Monday, February 12.

Aaron Holiday sank two of three free throws with 0.3 seconds left on a Jalen Brunson foul which the referees later admitted was a mistake.

“In live action, it was felt that the lower body contact was illegal,” crew chief Ed Malloy said in the NBA pool report. “After seeing it during [the] postgame review, the offensive player was able to return to a normal playing position on the floor. The contact which occurred after the release of the ball therefore is incidental and marginal to the shot attempt and should not have been called.”

The Knicks were robbed of an opportunity to win the game in overtime after they gallantly fought back from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit.

Jalen Brunson, Tom Thibodeau Miffed by Controversial Call

With a sober mood, Brunson and Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau sarcastically answered questions about it during their postgame interviews.

“Great call,” Brunson said via NBA.com. “Next question.”

After dodging the question a couple of times with one-liners, Thibodeau finally weighed in on the officiating.

“I don’t really care how tight the game is called,” Thibodeau said via SNY. “You can call it tight or you can call it loose, I just would like the consistency to be the same. They have a job. They have to control and manage the game.”