Kevin Durant's Quentin Grimes Shade is Double-Edged Sword for New York Knicks

Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant had an unintentional critique of third-year New York Knick Quentin Grimes after their showdown on Friday.

The New York Knicks have used Quentin Grimes solely as a spot-up shooter this season and one NBA star took notice.

In the aftermath of Friday's 139-122 Knicks victory over the Phoenix Suns, Kevin Durant had high direct praise for Jalen Brunson after his career-best 50-point showing but offered a backhanded compliment to backup Quentin Grimes.

"Shooters get up to (Brunson) and make him dribble. Like, what’s his name? Quentin Grimes," Durant said, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. "He can’t get six threes up. He doesn’t dribble at all. He doesn’t have any free throws on the season. He doesn’t have any assists, it feels like. But he’s getting threes up? That’s the stuff we can’t have. It’s frustrating but we’ll figure it out."

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Though obviously overshadowed by Brunson's dominance, Grimes was 3-of-6 from three-point range on Friday, which accounted for all nine of his points off the bench.

While Durant's comments come from a place of frustration, they do have some truth to them. Grimes is averaging a career-low 1.1 assists per game this season and has taken only five free throws (hitting two). In his first seven games back from a wrist injury that kept him out of two November contests, Grimes shot under 18 percent from the field and averaged just 2.3 points. The final straw came when Grimes expressed frustration with his role in the Knicks' starting five after he put up just one shot in a Dec. 5 loss to Milwaukee.

Moving back to the second unit has appeared to have done Grimes some good, as he's putting up eight shots a game and averaging 10.2 points over his last five. Durant's frustration is a bit of a double-edged sword: it hints at the Knicks' apparent depth but it also perhaps raises further questions over whether Grimes' ultimate impact is to be made in New York.

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Grimes will have his next opportunity to prove his worth when the Knicks (14-11) face LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena (10:30 p.m. ET, MSG).