The Knicks are looking for backup point guard help, a scoring punch off the bench in the non-Jalen Brunson minutes. New York has some matching salary players — hello Evan Fournier — and plenty of draft picks they could throw in to get a deal done.
However, Quentin Grimes is the player most other teams target when talking to New York, reports Ian Begley of SNY.TV.
The Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies, Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets are among the teams with interest in the 23-year-old shooting guard. The New York Post reported that the Mavericks are also interested in Grimes.
There is probably a much longer list of teams than that.
Grimes lost his starting job to Donte DiVincenzo earlier this season, and his minutes off the bench have been up and down. Grimes has struggled with that fluctuating role, while his minutes per game are down (and scoring with that, 6.9 points per game) and his true shooting has dropped from an impressive 61.9 last season to a below league average 54.9 this season. It’s not his shooting from beyond the arc, Grimes is getting a lower percentage of his shots at the rim and is shooting just 52.9% in the restricted area — he’s not finishing like he used to.
A lot of other teams will look at Grimes and think they can change that dynamic, and with him in just his third year, they could have Grimes for one more year on his rookie contract ($4.3 million next season) and then re-sign him.
The Jazz and Knicks have reportedly talked about a Jordan Clarkson trade, Grimes unquestionably would be part of that if it came to fruition. Atlanta is testing the market for their entire roster outside Trae Young and Jalen Johnson, and while Dejounte Murray might not be a good fit next to Brunson, Bogdan Bogdanovic would and Grimes could be part of any deal there. The Raptors might like Grimes if a Bruce Brown trade happened. The list goes on and on.
Grimes could fit a lot of place,s and there’s a solid chance he will be on the move before the Feb. 8 trade deadline.