Getty Quentin Grimes stares back at his defender after making a three-point shot on March 29.
The New York Knicks walked into the 2021 NBA Draft with two first-round picks, four picks total, and multiple roster needs coming off of the 2020-2021 season.
And they walk out of it with three guards, one a draft-and-stash, and a big man.
All roles that need to be filled and all picks that should earn high grades come report cards on Friday morning.
The Knicks got their night started by, well, not starting. New York traded the 19th overall pick to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for a 2022 first-round pick.
But it’s how they followed up their first surprise of the night that really shocked the fanbase.
When the Knicks were back up to draft, on the clock at 21st overall, they didn’t trade out, but they traded back.
In return for the pick, they received the 25th pick in the draft, as well as a future second-round pick in 2024.
Yet while some fans may have originally been disappointed with that outcome, the player New York ultimately selected at 25th may help to ease some frustrations.
With the 25th Pick in the 2021 NBA Draft…
The New York Knicks took NBA Combine standout and Houston product, Quentin Grimes, with the 25th overall pick.
He averaged 17.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, two assists, and 1.4 steals per game last season with the Cougars.
Marc Berman of the New York Post reported earlier this month that Grimes had “wowed” the Knicks brass during a workout at their Tarrytown practice facility:
…The Post has learned that another wing who can shoot and defend wowed team brass two weeks ago at their Tarrytown facility.
Quentin Grimes, the 6-foot-4 shooting guard who transferred from Kansas to Houston in 2019, is on the Knicks’ radar with one of their first-round picks (No. 19 or No. 21) in the July 29 NBA draft.
To get a guy at 25 that you expected to be on the board at 19 or 21, well that certainly seems like a plus-move.
And that’s without mentioning that New York added a future asset by way of a second-round pick in the process.
Grimes will provide immediate help on both the defensive end and at the three-point line, where he was the only college prospect to attempt 15 three-pointers made per 100 possessions.
He hit 40% of them, for what it’s worth.
Grimes: “It’s a Match Made in Heaven”
As much as New York Knicks fans may be excited about this pick, it seems Quentin Grimes may be even more so.
The 21-year old met with the media via Zoom on Friday morning (via Elite Sports NY) to discuss his new team.
In regards to his fit with the Knicks, Grimes couldn’t have been more optimistic:
I know Coach Thibs is a tough, hard-nosed coach and I come from Coach Sampson who is also a tough, hard-nosed coach. We would kind of be like a match made in heaven.
He also mentioned that New York youths Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett have already reached out to him via text.
For now, it seems that Quentin Grimes and the New York Knicks are hitting the ground running.
Another draft, another solid choice for Leon Rose and company.
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