Why the Knicks should not trade Quentin Grimes

After acquiring OG Anunoby from the Toronto Raptors last month, the New York Knicks are closer to figuring out what their roster should look like for the rest of the season.

The last piece of business, according to the rumor mill, involves acquiring a playmaking guard to bolster the bench. A name constantly floated around as trade bait to land a playmaker is guard Quentin Grimes.

The rumors to deal Grimes are a sharp departure from 2022 when New York was reluctant to part with him in Donovan Mitchell trade talks with the Utah Jazz. At the time, it made sense for the Knicks to do everything to keep Grimes.

Though the Knicks could use some playmaking and shot creation from the bench, getting rid of Grimes seems like a rushed decision. The team should reevaluate if it's worth getting rid of the former first-round draft pick.

The 6-5 guard is one of the team’s best defenders and before the arrival of Anunoby, he was tasked with guarding stars like Mitchell, Jimmy Butler and Jayson Tatum. The Knicks are defending better with Grimes on the floor, giving up 3.0 more points per 100 possessions when he’s off the court, per NBA Stats.

Grimes has also been a consistent outside shooter. A career 38.1 percent marksman, he is 69-186 (37.1 percent) from deep this season. At 23 years old, Grimes still has a lot of room to grow.

It’s been a rough third season for Grimes. He lost his spot as a starter to offseason acquisition Donte DiVincenzo 20 games into the season. His minutes have also sharply declined from nearly 30 minutes per game last season to a shade under 20 this season.

Fading offensive role

Grimes has regressed on the offensive end, becoming one-dimensional. Just 76.5 percent of his shot attempts are from deep and he rarely drives to the rim, which shows up in a few specific statistics. After having 24 dunks last season, Grimes has just one dunk this season, which came in Saturday night’s 126-100 win against the Toronto Raptors.

After shooting 71.9 percent in the restricted area last year, Grimes is shooting just 52.4 percent on an extremely reduced number of attempts. He also has taken 21 free throws in just under 800 minutes, including just one freebie in his first 16 games. This is a sharp departure from last year when Grimes could leverage his three-point shooting and attack aggressive closeouts.

Grimes showed flashes of playmaking late last season. There was a nine-game stretch to end the regular season where he averaged 21.9 points and 3.8 assists while shooting 47.8 percent on trifectas.

There are ways to get Grimes more involved in the offense even when Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle are on the floor. Though it’s not a staple of a Tom Thibodeau offense, the Knicks could involve Grimes more through ball or man movement. The Knicks don’t run Grimes off screens or have him screen for Brunson and Randle often.

New York is 29th out of 30 teams in assist rate. Grimes’ baskets are assisted 89.4 percent of the time, the highest figure of any player in the Knicks rotation. That’s a bad equation that will doom him.

There’s a reason that several teams, such as the Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies and Utah Jazz, are interested in Grimes. He’s easy to plug and play because NBA teams are looking for role players who can spread the floor and guard multiple positions.

A 23-year-old two-way role player like Grimes doesn’t just grow on trees, so the Knicks should handle the decision with care before trimming him from the roster.