Getty Quentin Grimes attempts a dunk.
Quentin Grimes was once a major part of the New York Knicks future. The former first-round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft made an immediate contribution, playing in 71 games and averaging 29.2 minutes per game in his second season. Grimes, however, fell out of head coach Tom Thibodeau’s rotation in his third season and was traded to the Detroit Pistons as a result.
Despite the ending of a once-perfect relationship, Grimes didn’t have anything bad to say about Thibodeau. It would’ve been easy for the 23-year-old to blame him for not playing, but he says the Knicks head coach can help him bring a winning culture to the Pistons. Heading into the February 26 game against the Knicks, his first time back at Madison Square Garden since he was traded, Grimes had the following to say, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Post.
“Just try to come in and bring in some of the habits I’ve learned under Thibs, come in and try to bring a winning culture, try to get it restored and try to uplift everything.
“Only place you can go right now is up with this team.”
The Pistons are a league-worst 8-48 and haven’t shown many bright spots this season.
Quentin Grimes Speaks on Falling out of the Knicks Rotation
The former New York Knicks wing was lost in a rotation that’s one of the best in basketball. With the additions of OG Anunoby and Donte DiVincenzo, there weren’t many minutes for Grimes.
His frustration grew and he admitted that before the game. With ball-dominant players, Grimes lost the chance to bring the Knicks anything on the offensive end.
“It wasn’t like how it was last year,” Grimes added Monday. “But sometimes it goes like that. We had RJ the whole season, Julius. Everybody was pretty much healthy so those guys need the ball for the majority of the game, so it’s hard to get shots and stuff like that when you’re playing with three guys who are pretty ball-dominant. So that’s just kind of how it went this year.”
As a result, Grimes shot a career low in three-point percentage at 36.3% and was taking one less three per game compared to last season.
Monty Williams Praises Grimes
Much like Grimes praising Thibodeau, Detroit Pistons head coach Monty Williams had nothing but good things to say about Grimes. He had the following to say, according to Jared Schwartz of the New York Post.
“His tenacity, getting over screens and staying in front of the ball,” Pistons coach Monty Williams said. “Once he figures out what we’re doing in real time — you can do all that stuff in walk-throughs and practice but in the game it’s a bit different — I like what he brings to the table.”
While Grimes fell out of the New York Knicks rotation, he gets a new start with the Pistons. The Knicks are in a much better position to win moving forward, but this allows Grimes to play in every game and develop with other young players.
Things change quickly in the NBA and Grimes falling out of the rotation is the latest example of that for the Knicks.
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