Knicks' Quentin Grimes back from injury, ready to earn playing time
Quentin Grimes.
GREENBURGH, N.Y. — When Quentin Grimes arrived in training camp last month, he could have written an interesting report on “how I spent my summer”: Starring in the Las Vegas Summer League, training with former NBA star and current University of Memphis coach Penny Hardaway and hearing his name in trade rumors — with the surprising addition to the rumors that the Knicks were refusing to part with him even in a deal for three-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell.
That fueled speculation that he could be elevated to a starting role this season. Thus far, however, Grimes has been left out of action in preseason games and limited in practice with what the team called a sore foot. On Monday, he was back for the full workout at practice and hoping he’ll be able to get on the floor in one of the two remaining preseason games.
The lofty goals the Knicks have are due in no small part to the hope of what Grimes can become. Chosen 25th overall in the 2021 NBA Draft, he quickly earned the trust of coach Tom Thibodeau, who sources have indicated pushed for the team to draft him.
“You go in with an open mind and you get what you earn,” Thibodeau said. “I didn’t know we were going to play [Immanuel] Quickley his rookie year. So he came in and he played well. It started in practice and carried over to the games. So same thing with Quentin. We didn’t know we were going to play him. There were obviously things that we liked about him. That’s why we drafted him.”
Thibodeau said he has no worries about Grimes losing conditioning from his time healing, noting, “No one’s close to putting the amount of work that he puts in. He’s in phenomenal shape.”
Grimes’ distinctive skills are pure three-point shooting and hard-nosed defense. In Summer League, he stepped into a leadership role on the court and off.
He is expected to split time with Evan Fournier, who proved to be the perimeter threat the team needed last season. He set a franchise single-season record with 241 three-point field goals.
Grimes would like to start but isn’t in a rush. “I didn’t assume coming in,” he said. “Thibs said you have to come in and earn it. That’s what I kind of expected coming into training camp, but then I kind of got hurt, so it kind of derailed that. But I felt like [Fournier] earned it. He was the guy that had it coming in. I had to prove myself. I 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. Him and Kemba [Walker] were kind of really my vets who really talked to me a lot on the bench before I was playing, while I was playing, the whole time. It would’ve been a great competition because me and Evan — he’s a great competitor. I want to go out there and compete. So I feel it would’ve been really good to just battle for that spot, but he’s been helping me every day for sure.”
Grimes survived the trade rumors, trusting that if there was something he needed to know, he’d get the word.
“I’m big on loyalty, so I feel like it kind of showed how invested they were just seeing me every day, just working and working,” he said. “Even when my name was in the trade rumors last year at the trade deadline, they called me and were like, ‘Thibs loves you, blah, blah, blah. We love your work ethic.’ So just having that trust in that belief in you kind of goes a long way with your confidence when you go out there on the court and know they believe in you and they’re putting everything into you and they’re not worried about maybe just somebody coming in for an instant, instant success. They kind of really put in a lot of belief in you, so I feel like that kind of goes a long way with how I just see things in the future with the Knicks and everybody, really.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
