Will the Knicks trade Quentin Grimes?
The New York Knicks are one of the hottest teams in the NBA right now. Since the turn of the calendar, they are 15-3 with the NBA’s second-best NET Rating (15.3).
We have over 48 hours until the final buzzer sounds on the Feb. 8 NBA Trade Deadline at 3:00 p.m. EST. The Knicks, who traded for OG Anunoby on Dec. 30–perhaps the biggest reason why they’ve soared to 14 games above .500–can still make moves ahead of the deadline. They have all of their available first-round picks (plus Milwaukee’s 2025 first-rounder), Evan Fournier‘s sizable $18.9 million deal plus smaller contracts they could cobble together.
One of their most attractive trade assets is shooting guard Quentin Grimes, whose role has fluctuated throughout the season–especially since Anunoby arrived. The 23-year-old shooting guard has missed the last two games with a knee injury and isn’t expected to play Tuesday, but the question remains: Will the Knicks trade Grimes?
That’s perhaps the biggest question for the Knicks as the deadline approaches, with their biggest need being a ballhandling guard to ease the creation burden off All-Star Jalen Brunson. SNY’s David Vertsberger provided some insight Monday on Grimes’ trade status.
“Grimes has been the most heavily mentioned rotation name in trade rumors as of late,” he wrote. “But he was getting into a real rhythm before his injury and may be worth holding on to for wing depth. His value is at an all-time low, so to trade him now when there’s a real need for him seems silly.
“But the Knicks are cognizant of some weaknesses in their rotation that a trade could credibly fix, namely secondary creation. We’ve only seen glimpses of Anunoby flexing his offensive talent, with it mostly being the Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle show since the deal.
“Now it’s only the former with Randle out for the foreseeable future, and that’s way too big a workload to put on one man. Outside of Brunson, there’s at best been sparse offensive generation.”
Vertsberger mentions Portland’s Malcolm Brogdon and Utah’s Jordan Clarkson as two possible trade possibilities. Obviously, a deal for either would likely include Fournier. New York is hard-capped below the $172 million tax apron–so they would able to take back north of $26 million if Fournier was the only player involved in the deal, which both Brogdon ($22.5M) and Clarkson ($23.5M) do by themselves.
But you need more than that from an asset perspective if you’re either one of those teams–especially Utah. For Danny Ainge, picks will suffice, but perhaps Grimes–and sharpshooting 3-and-D guard–could alleviate Clarkson’s loss. In Portland’s case, Brogdon’s departure gives the keys to Scoot Henderson and Anfernee Simons while Grimes provides complementary point-of-attack defense alongside them.
In general, most teams should be calling New York to inquire about Grimes if he’s available. He will be due for an extension this upcoming offseason, so any team that trades for him would pay him.
Grimes’ value is lower than it’s ever been, so I don’t expect them to trade him yet, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they do–should they acquire another ballhandler to replace Immanuel Quickley.
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