The return of Quentin Grimes to the Knicks' rotation
Quentin Grimes of the New York Knicks lays up a shot over Deandre Ayton of the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center on November 20, 2022 in Phoenix. Credit: Getty Images
OKLAHOMA CITY — When he arrived at training camp, Quentin Grimes had a goal — to win a starting job. And while the path to that goal may have veered through some unlikely detours, he finally may have arrived.
A sore left foot — a heel injury that never has been disclosed as anything more than inflammation — shut him down through most of training camp and for most of the first month of the season. But while he waited and healed, playing only 43 minutes through the first 16 games, his chance came.
Evan Fournier was pushed to the bench, giving Grimes his first start in the eighth game of the season. But when Grimes came up sore again after a brief appearance that night, Fournier was pushed further out of the rotation and Cam Reddish emerged as the starter and a key contributor for the Knicks.
Reddish, however, suffered a groin strain Friday, missed Sunday’s game and was questionable for Monday night’s game against Oklahoma City.
That opened the door for Grimes, and he responded. He had 10 points and eight assists in 32 minutes against the Suns on Sunday, defending just as Tom Thibodeau believed he would and deftly connecting with teammates on the offensive end.
“It’s been tough, just knowing the expectation I’ve had for myself coming in [to this season],” Grimes said. “And just trying to deal with the foot and just trying to maintain and stay strong mentally and be professional and do whatever Coach asks of me and stay ready.’’
It seemed as if Grimes had lost his chance early, with the injury taking him out of competition in camp and Thibodeau announcing that the starting job belonged to Fournier, who had set a franchise record for three-pointers made last season.
But Fournier’s shooting struggles combined with his weakness defensively — especially paired with an undersized point guard in Jalen Brunson — prompted Thibodeau to move quickly to change the lineup.
“I don’t think I ever thought I blew [my chance],” Grimes said. “I know who I am and the way Thibs feels about me, and the organization. I just had to wait for my opportunity and it was going to come . . . ’’
“All-around play, I thought,” Thibodeau said of Grimes’ first full-time test this season. “Defensively strong, a lot of pop to his game, good playmaking, hit the open man, created a lot of good situations for us.”
Grimes was a late first-round pick in the summer of 2021. He gained the trust of Thibodeau, who had pushed for the team to draft him for his defensive ability and pure three-point stroke. He had brief moments as a rookie, and in the Las Vegas Summer League, the team put the ball in his hands and let him show that he could do more than simply be a spot-up catch-and-shoot offensive threat.
“I feel like coming into this season, I wanted to get back to how I played in college,” Grimes said. “Putting the ball on the floor, make plays. I feel like I showed that in Summer League and working out with Penny [Hardaway, a former NBA star and the current University of Memphis coach] this summer, kind of the way he sees the game.’’
Grimes believes he is healthy now. “I think so,” he said. “I think I’m pretty much back to 100% . . . It’s been good for the last 2, 2 1⁄2 weeks now. But Coach Thibs felt like changing the rotation, so it was kind of a good thing to let it heal even more. But staying ready as much as I can, and the opportunity came today.
“It has been [frustrating], because like the trainer said, you can’t really tell when it’s going to happen, so you do as much treatment, stay off it, stretch it as much as you can. But I felt like we hit a good point the last couple weeks of being able to maintain it.”
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.
