Quentin Grimes Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Notes: Barrett, Randle, Mitchell, Grimes, Walker

February 26th, 2022 at 5:16pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks are expected to pursue a roster shakeup this summer, but the Heat’s Jimmy Butler believes there’s already a future star to build around, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. RJ Barrett impressed Butler and his Miami teammates with a 46-point outburst Friday night.

“He had a helluva game, an all-around game at that,” Butler said. “We all know he’s capable of that. I don’t think anybody is surprised or should be surprised. He’s definitely going to be playing in this league for a long time and he’s going to be the face of the Knicks.”

Barrett is averaging a career-high 18.6 points per game in his third NBA season, but Bondy points out that he’s still a streaky shooter and has trouble beating defenders off the dribble. The question for the Knicks, Bondy adds, is what to do about Julius Randle, who needs to handle the ball often to be effective and isn’t an ideal complement to Barrett. Bondy notes that Randle and Barrett have only reached 20 points in the same game seven times all season.

There’s more from New York:

Executive vice president William Wesley has been lobbying owner James Dolan with a plan to acquire a star and is focused on Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell, a source tells Steve Popper of Newsday. There are some New York connections for Mitchell, who is a former client of team president Leon Rose and worked closely with associate head coach Johnnie Bryant when he was in Utah. Popper points out that Mitchell will make $30.4MM next season and won’t hit the open market until 2025 at the earliest, and any deal the Knicks could offer would have to include almost every asset at their disposal.
Rookie guard Quentin Grimes, who suffered a subluxation of his right patella in Friday’s game, will be re-evaluated in two weeks, the Knicks announced (via Twitter). Grimes was at the team facility today and was “walking around pretty well,” tweets Ian Begley of SNY TV, who adds that Grimes’ response to physical therapy will determine how much time he has to miss. Surgery won’t be necessary, a source in Grimes’ camp tells Ashley Nicole Moss of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link), and he will likely be sidelined two to three weeks because of slight ligament bruising.
The medical procedure that Derrick Rose underwent on his left ankle Friday won’t affect Kemba Walker‘s decision to sit out the rest of the season, per Marc Berman of The New York Post. Walker made the decision in the belief that he wouldn’t have a spot in the rotation once Rose returned, but a source told Berman that he’s unlikely to change his mind and coach Tom Thibodeau also dismissed the possibility.

Knicks Rookie Quentin Grimes Suffers Patella Injury

February 25th, 2022 at 9:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Knicks rookie guard Quentin Grimes suffered a subluxation of his right patella on Friday, the team’s PR department tweets.

The non-contact injury to the first-round pick occurred during the first quarter against Miami as he tried to fight past a screen. He required help from his teammates to leave the court and could not putting any pressure on his right leg as he headed to the locker room, according to Greg Joyce of the New York Post.

Grimes will undergo an MRI. It’s an injury that can take four-to-six weeks to heal without surgery and sometimes requires surgery depending on the severity, Steve Popper of Newsday tweets.

Coach Tom Thibodeau didn’t have an update on Grimes’ injury after the game, Fred Katz of The Athletic tweets.

Grimes had earned more playing time this month due to his defensive commitment. He was averaging 9.5 PPG in 28.3 MPG in six February appearances, including a 40-minute stint against Oklahoma City in which he scored 19 points.

The injury to Grimes comes on the heels of the announcement this week that Kemba Walker would sit out the rest of the season. Derrick Rose‘s return to action from ankle surgery was delayed after he underwent another minor procedure on Friday.

New York Notes: Aldridge, Nets, Toppin, Grimes

February 1st, 2022 at 11:04pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Nets head coach Steve Nash told reporters that center LaMarcus Aldridge will miss the rest of Brooklyn’s current road trip due to a left ankle sprain, per Nick Friedell of ESPN (via Twitter). Friedell adds that Nash expressed optimism about the veteran big man’s ability to rejoin the Nets prior to the upcoming All-Star break.

Aldridge suffered the injury in a 110-106 weekend loss to the Warriors. He departed Golden State’s home arena, the Chase Center, in a walking boot and on crutches. Nash is glad that Aldridge’s injury is not more severe, per Brian Lewis of the New York Post.

“There’s always a dark side, a bad side of all these injuries or incidents in a game, so you can always look at the positive side,” Nash said. “And fortunately I don’t think it’s a long-term thing; it’s more of a short-term thing.”

Lewis notes that Nash would not reveal the extent of the sprain.

The 6’11” veteran, a seven-time All-Star, has proven to be a helpful role player when available for the 29-20 Nets, averaging 13.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG and 1.1 BPG in 36 games (22.9 MPG).

There’s more out of the City That Never Sleeps:

Some changes have been announced near the top of the Nets ownership hierarchy. John Abbamondi, CEO of Nets parent company BSE Global, will be stepping down in July, per Jabari Young of CNBC (Twitter link). Abbamondi was just hired in July 2020. Vice President of Global Partnership Sales Chris Insolera also revealed that he would be leaving BSE today, per Mark J. Burns of the Sports Business Journal (via Twitter).
Second-year Knicks power forward Obi Toppin will participate in his second straight Slam Dunk Contest during the 2022 All-Star Weekend, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (video link). Toppin has seen an uptick in his minutes during his second NBA season with New York, ascending from 11.0 MPG to 15.8 MPG. Through 46 games this season, he is averaging 7.8 PPG, 3.6 RPG, and 1.0 APG on a .541/.250/.772 shooting line.
Knicks rookie guard Quentin Grimes has seen his intense commitment to practice pay off with a bigger role on the team, writes Steve Popper of Newsday. Grimes has had positive practice habits instilled in him from a young age. “My dad, he grew up playing basketball,” Grimes said. “Played at Santa Clara and was around Kurt Rambis and a lot of NBA guys growing up in the Houston area. He always told me that no matter if you’re not playing, playing a lot, playing 40 minutes, you got to treat every practice like it’s a game because you’re ultimately preparing yourself for the game.” Grimes had a bumpy start to his first NBA season. He played in just 13 of the team’s first 26 games this year, averaging just six minutes per contest. After coronavirus absences gave Grimes an opportunity to play more minutes, he showed more promising flashes. “He treats practice like a game,” head coach Tom Thibodeau raved. “He’s there early. He practices extremely hard. He guards everyone. He’s not going to take any possessions off.” In 33 games (15.9 MPG), Grimes is averaging 5.9 PPG on .420/.403/.727 shooting, along with 1.7 RPG and 1.0 APG.

Eastern Notes: Dragic, Olynyk, Rose, Grimes

January 30th, 2022 at 7:02pm CST by JD Shaw

The Raptors are receiving a great deal of interest in veteran point guard Goran Dragic ahead of the February 10 trade deadline, Doug Smith of The Toronto Star writes. Smith reports that Dragic will most likely be traded — not bought out — in the near future.

Dragic, 35, is set to make $19.4MM this season. He’s spent the past six-and-a-half seasons with Miami, who sent him to Toronto last offseason as part of a sign-and-trade for Kyle Lowry. Since then, he has only played five games with the franchise, the last of which was on November 13.

Dragic has been away from the Raptors due to personal reasons. In August, he suggested that he didn’t want to stay in Toronto, a comment that he later apologized for making. He started for Miami just over a year ago on its run to the NBA Finals, averaging 19.1 points in 17 playoff games.

There’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Pistons big man Kelly Olynyk has cleared the NBA’s health and safety protocols, Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press tweets. Olynyk recently returned from a knee injury, but he only played in two games before entering protocols. He’ll miss Sunday’s game against Cleveland (return to play conditioning).
Knicks guard Derrick Rose revealed that his December ankle surgery was a regular scope and removed a bone spur from his deltoid ligament, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Rose is hopeful to return shortly after the All-Star break. “I felt relief right away after the surgery,” Rose said. “I felt the relief. I’m just being very, very appreciative of where I am at and how much I did just to get to where I am right now.”
Steve Popper of Newsday examines why starting Quentin Grimes could help change the Knicks‘ fortunes. Grimes has shown potential at just 21 years old, connecting on 40% of his attempts from deep this season. He was drafted No. 25 overall last year.

Knicks Notes: Walker, Randle, Toppin, Grimes, Reddish

January 20th, 2022 at 6:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said earlier this week he didn’t want Kemba Walker to return to action until the point guard was confident he could play on a regular basis. Even though Walker returned on Tuesday and scored 19 points in 30 minutes against Minnesota, the veteran guard didn’t make any promises about his future availability, according to Peter Botte of the New York Post.

“We’ll see. We’ll see down the line,” Walker said. “It really just depends on how I feel.”

We have more on the Knicks:

The team and star forward Julius Randle haven’t lived up to expectations and it’s unlikely that will change, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps writes. Randle hasn’t come close to reproducing the offensive efficiency he displayed last season, the defense has been subpar, and difference-maker Derrick Rose is out with an injury. As one Eastern Conference executive told Bontemps, “Everything fell into place for them last year, and they haven’t been able to repeat it.”
Obi Toppin has seen his playing time plummet in recent games, Botte notes. Toppin, the team’s 2020 lottery pick, has averaged just 11.3 MPG over the past eight contests. He’s averaging 7.7 PPG and 3.7 RPG in 15.8 MPG during his second season.
Quentin Grimes has earned more playing time even with several veterans returning to action recently, Steve Popper of Newsday writes. Grimes doesn’t put up big stats but Thibodeau has played Grimes a minimum of 17 minutes in all but one game this month. “Grimes has been playing great basketball,” Thibodeau said of the first-round rookie guard. “But it’s just step by step. You earn your minutes here. What you do in practice. You have to wait for your opportunity and when your opportunity comes, be ready to go.”
Newly-acquired Cam Reddish is close to making his Knicks debut, Marc Berman of the New York Post tweets. Thibodeau said Reddish will be ready to return from an ankle sprain “any day now.”

Reddish Trade Notes: Other Offers, Details, Grades, More

January 13th, 2022 at 9:06pm CST by Rory Maher

The Hawks traded Cam Reddish, Solomon Hill and 2025 second-round pick to the Knicks in exchange for Kevin Knox and a protected first-round pick on Thursday. According to Ian Begley of SNY.tv, the Hawks were interested in acquiring Quentin Grimes, but the Knicks were reluctant to part with the rookie, who was the 25th overall pick of the 2021 draft.

The Knicks are likely to explore other trades ahead of the deadline and are known to be interested in Myles Turner and Jalen Brunson, Begley reports. He mentions that any player on New York’s roster could be on the table for the right return, pointing to Alec Burks and Mitchell Robinson as players who could draw interest, but the Knicks would likely want a top-end starter in return for Burks and/or Robinson.

Teams pursuing Reddish believed he could command a salary in the range of $18-20MM per year on his next contract, whether it be this summer in an extension or as a restricted free agent in the summer of 2023, so Begley thinks the Knicks must be open to that figure, unless they plan to trade him again in the future.

Here’s more on the trade between Atlanta and New York:

Atlanta had been seeking a first-round pick for Reddish for several months and never wavered in its asking price, write Fred Katz and Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. The Pacers, Cavaliers, Pistons, and Lakers were among the teams interested in Reddish, with L.A. recently offering two second-round picks for the third-year wing.
Reddish requested a trade from Atlanta months ago, which led to awkwardness in the team’s locker room, and it was inevitable he would be dealt once a team met Atlanta’s asking price, according to Katz and Kirschner. Reddish was reportedly unhappy with his role as a spot-up shooter and desired more play-making opportunities, which is questionable given he has more turnovers than assists in his career. It’s unclear how he’ll fit in with the Knicks, who have a crowded rotation when healthy, meaning finding more minutes than Reddish was getting in Atlanta (23.4 MPG) could be a challenge. Katz and Kirschner believe the first-round pick Atlanta acquired could be used in a subsequent trade, perhaps for Ben Simmons or Jerami Grant.
Zach Harper of The Athletic and Kevin Pelton of ESPN (Insider link) provide their grades for the trade. They both liked it more for the Knicks than the Hawks.
John Hollinger of The Athletic thinks that the trade is in the eye of the beholder, because while Reddish has the size and talent to be a good NBA player, the idea of him has been better than his actual play to this point in his career. The winner of the deal will ultimately depend on how Reddish develops, Hollinger notes. He adds that Hawks were -10.0 points per 100 possessions with Reddish on the court, compared to +5.7 per 100 when he was off.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks (video link) provides his thoughts on the deal, essentially saying it’s a low-risk, potentially high-reward for the Knicks, but the Hawks got fair value for Reddish too.
Sources tell Marc Berman of The New York Post (Twitter link) that Reddish and RJ Barrett didn’t get along well at Duke, and some in the Knicks’ front office wanted to trade back to draft Reddish in 2019.

New York Notes: Harden, Durant, Irving, Grimes, Knicks

December 28th, 2021 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

The Nets are feeling good after winning a pair of games in Los Angeles and seeing James Harden playing at an MVP level again, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Harden, who struggled early in the season with the lingering effects of a hamstring injury, had 39 points, 15 assists and 8 rebounds on Monday as Brooklyn pounded the Clippers. The Nets have remained at the top of the East despite playing all season without Kyrie Irving and having Kevin Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge in health and safety protocols.

“Confidence is through the roof,” Harden said. “Now just you add KD, and Kai, and LaMarcus and Joe Harris (who’s out after ankle surgery), and that’s four of our best players, four of our top players that are out. Our confidence level for our bench and guys that are in the game is high.”

Harden seems as good as ever after returning last week from his own stay in the protocols. He had 39 points in a Christmas Day win over the Lakers, giving him back-to-back 30-point games for the first time all season.

“I was starting to feel good right before (entering the protocols December 14),” Harden said. “Like body starting to feel good. That break, or COVID, or protocol, or rest, whatever you want to call it, it could have went two ways. I just overly locked in on my body, my eating, and when I was able to start working out, my workouts.”

There’s more from New York:

Coach Steve Nash said “there’s a good chance” Durant will clear protocols in time for Thursday’s game, per Adam Zagoria of NJ.com. Irving’s future is more uncertain because seven of the next nine games are in Brooklyn, where he is ineligible to play because he’s not vaccinated. Nash expects him to need a week or two to get ready once he’s out of protocols. “He’s isolating, so that kinda puts another layer to the ramp-up,” Nash said. “It’s not like he’s been working out. I’d imagine it’s going to be closer to two weeks once he comes out of protocols. We’ll see how it goes though because we have to evaluate him from a physical and performance standpoint, and then a basketball standpoint as well.”
Quentin Grimes is taking advantage of an opportunity with the short-handed Knicks, notes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. The rookie guard hit five three-pointers in two straight games, which came 13 days apart because he spent time in protocols.
Currently tied for 11th in the East at 15-18, the Knicks can boost their playoff hopes with several upcoming games against teams that are dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks, according to Steve Popper of Newsday. Their current road trip includes Minnesota, which has seven players in protocols, Detroit, which is also missing seven players, and Toronto, which is down 10 players and could barely field a team for its last game.

D’Angelo Russell, Three Blazers Enter Protocols

December 25th, 2021 at 11:04am CST by Luke Adams

Timberwolves guard D’Angelo Russell has joined the growing list of Minnesota players in the health and safety protocols, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

The Timberwolves now have eight players affected, including stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards. They’ve already signed a pair of replacement players – Chris Silva and Rayjon Tucker – using hardship exceptions, but will likely make at least one more roster addition before their next game on Monday.

Here are more COVID-19 protocol updates from around the NBA:

Three Trail Blazers players – Robert Covington, Ben McLemore, and Keljin Blevins – have entered the health and safety protocols, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). That brings Portland’s total count to five affected players, all of whom have been placed in the protocols in the last two days.
Kevin Knox has exited the protocols, but Jericho Sims has entered, so the Knicks still have three players affected, according to the team (Twitter links). RJ Barrett is back in the starting lineup for New York today and Quentin Grimes is also expected to play, but Immanuel Quickley and Knox will need a little more time to ramp up their conditioning, says Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter link).
Mavericks wing Josh Green has tested out of the protocols, but didn’t travel with the team to Utah and won’t play tonight, tweets ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.

Bradley Beal, Trevor Ariza, Jarrett Culver Enter Protocols

December 23rd, 2021 at 3:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Wizards star Bradley Beal has entered the health and safety protocols and will miss Thursday’s game vs. New York, according to the team (Twitter link). Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is also currently in the protocols for Washington.

If Beal hasn’t registered a confirmed positive COVID-19 test, it’s possible he could exit the protocols in a matter of days. But if he did test positive, the 28-year-old figures to be sidelined for at least 10 days unless he can return two consecutive negative tests.

Beal, who remained unvaccinated as of September, missed the Olympics earlier this year because he tested positive for the coronavirus just before Team USA left for Tokyo.

Meanwhile, Lakers forward Trevor Ariza and Grizzlies wing Jarrett Culver have also been placed in the COVID-19 protocols, according to their respective teams (Twitter links). Ariza is the fifth Laker in the protocols, while Culver is the second Grizzlies player affected, joining Ziaire Williams.

While three players enter the protocols, another has exited — the Knicks announced that Quentin Grimes has been cleared to rejoin the team (Twitter link).

Four Nets Players Enter Health And Safety Protocols

December 14th, 2021 at 9:58am CST by Luke Adams

Four Nets players have joined forward Paul Millsap in the health and safety protocols, the team announced this morning. As Ian Begley of SNY.tv relays (via Twitter), LaMarcus Aldridge, DeAndre’ Bembry, Jevon Carter, and James Johnson have all entered the protocols and have been ruled out for Tuesday’s game vs. Toronto.

We don’t have information yet on whether any or all of the five Nets players in the protocols have tested positive for COVID-19. If they’ve registered a false positive or have been deemed close contacts of someone who tested positive, it’s possible they could be cleared later this week.

However, if they’ve all tested positive for the coronavirus, they’ll be sidelined for at least 10 days or until they can return two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart. In that scenario, the Nets would be eligible to add multiple extra players via the hardship provision.

The Nets, who are also without Kyrie Irving and Joe Harris, will now find themselves a little shorthanded when they host the Raptors on Tuesday. They should have as many as 10 players available, but there are a few little-used rookies in that group, including David Duke, Kessler Edwards, and Day’Ron Sharpe.

Kevin Durant and James Harden will, of course, be leaned on heavily to carry the scoring load, assuming Durant plays — he’s listed as questionable due to right ankle soreness (Twitter link via Marc Stein).

The Nets aren’t the only New York team currently being affected by the health and safety protocols. The Knicks announced this morning (via Twitter) that rookie guard Quentin Grimes is out for Tuesday’s game vs. Golden State due to the protocols.

Grimes is the third Knick to enter the protocols within the last four days, joining RJ Barrett and Obi Toppin. It’s unfortunate timing for 2021’s No. 25 overall pick, who had his best game as a pro in his first career start on Sunday when he scored 27 points with seven 3-pointers vs. Milwaukee.