Getty Quentin Grimes of the New York Knicks looks on during the first quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Sophomore guard Quentin Grimes has proven himself to be an integral part of the rotation for the New York Knicks in 2022-23 and, in a recent interview with legendary sportscaster Ahmad Rashad, he took a deep dive into his particular style of play and the type of talent he believes himself to be.
When asked by Rashad to describe who he is, the 22-year-old issued a strong two-word response: “A competitor.”
“Offensively I’m trying to get a bucket. (I’m) trying to make every shot I shoot, I feel like it’s going in. Defensively, I’m trying to get a stop every time. Help side, on the ball, it doesn’t matter. Beating the gap, blocks, steals, whatever,” Grimes said.
Grimes would note during the interview that, as an NBA player, “you have to keep adding (to your game), keep getting better and better,” otherwise the rest of the league will “figure you out” and, based on his production thus far in year two, it appears he’s adhering to this mentality as he finds himself sporting averages of 10.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game on 44.5% shooting form distance, all career-high numbers.
Grimes Focused on Helping Knicks Win
All season long it has been rather apparent that Quentin Grimes is primarily focused on helping his team win, and this was exemplified to perfection when Zach Braziller of the New York Post shared some of his comments regarding the mid-season acquisition of wing Josh Hart, and the negative impact that it has had on his playing time.
“Quentin Grimes on diminished role of late since Josh Hart’s arrival: “It’s not about minutes. It’s trying to win games. He helps us win games, that’s the main thing,”” Braziller tweeted.
Quentin Grimes on diminished role of late since Josh Hart’s arrival: “It’s not about minutes. It’s trying to win games. He helps us win games, that’s the main thing.” #knikcs
Since Hart’s arrival in New York, Grimes has seen his 34.2 minutes per game averages drop down to just 22.4 minutes (a near 12-minute drop-off) and has put up just 4.5 points and 2.0 rebounds on a putrid 25.0% shooting from the field during this span.
Despite this stark shift in his role and minutes distribution, however, Braziller would go on to note in his Twitter thread that Grimes believes he “can’t think about it” when it comes to him ceding minutes to Hart, and that all he can do is “play how I’ve been playing all year, and not worry about that.”
Knicks Target May Be Shopped in Offseason
The New York Knicks may not have opted to partake in any mid-season trade deadline blockbusters this year, but this is not to say they didn’t have an interest in doing so as Yahoo! Sports NBA insider Jake Fischer reported prior to February 9 that Leon Rose and company have expressed “motivation” to trade for All-Star, Zach LaVine.
Though the 27-year-old wound up staying put with the Chicago Bulls beyond the deadline, analyst Jalen Rose discussed on a February 21 episode of ESPN’s NBA Today that the organization could look to shop their prized guard come the offseason.
“The Bulls are exactly where you don’t want to be…I anticipate the Bulls are going to blow this thing up. And I think after this season, don’t be surprised if they try to trade a (Zach) LaVine,” Rose said.
.@JalenRose thinks time is running out for the Bulls ⏳
“The Bulls are exactly where you don’t want to be. … I anticipate the Bulls are going to blow this thing up.”
Despite Chicago’s underwhelming 26-33 record through 59 games played this season, LaVine is posting impressive all-around averages of 24.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.0 steals per game on 46.5% shooting from the floor and 36.9% shooting from deep.