Trade Deadline: Have Knicks Found Time for Quentin Grimes?
With so much attention dedicated to who the New York Knicks might obtain before this week's NBA trade deadline, it's almost easy to forget the sacrifices that will have to be made in those pursuits, especially with homegrown franchise faces RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley already gone.
To that end, the Knicks have reportedly made some reconsiderations to their trade block: per Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports, the Knicks aren't keen to trade third-year backcourt man Quentin Grimes for a rental or role player.
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"It’s become clear the Knicks aren’t willing to part with Quentin Grimes unless New York is trading the young swingman for a perceived upgrade, sources said, as opposed to swapping him for a different back-of-the-rotation piece," Fisher reported. "Grimes continues to have fans in Atlanta and Utah, sources said."
The Knicks acknowledging Grimes' value is hardly new: management was reportedly willing to make Grimes a "sticking point" in the ultimately futile negotiations for former Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell and exercised his team options for both this and next season. At 23, Grimes still has plenty of upside and potential and currently stands as one of only three healthy players to be drafted by the Knicks in their current rotation (along with Miles McBride and Jericho Sims).
This season has been a rollercoaster for the 2021 first-round pick: Grimes began the year as the Knicks' primary shooting guard but has since lost that spot to Donte DiVincenzo. While Grimes had discovered a bit of a spark with the second unit (notably reaching double-figures in three of his past four games), he has missed the last two with a knee injury. The Knicks' lack of depth came back to haunt them on Saturday when a nine-game winning streak ended with a 113-105 defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Time will tell if Grimes is able to partake in the Knicks' next game, their last before the trade deadline. New York (32-18) welcomes in the reeling Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).
