Quentin Grimes is looking to bring some of what he learned with the Knicks to the Pistons.
Quentin Grimes wants to bring a winning culture to the league's worst Detroit Pistons team.
It's a task he took on after a trade sent him from the playoff-bound Knicks to the lottery-headed Pistons.
Grimes said he knew two days before the Feb. 8 NBA trade deadline that he would be transferred but wasn't sure where he would ultimately end up.
His new team had the worst record in the NBA last season, holds it again this season and could finish worst in the league next season as well.
Grimes wants to change the narrative. He and his new coach Monty Williams are on target.
The Pistons haven't been to the playoffs since 2019, tying the San Antonio Spurs for the second-longest active playoff drought behind the Charlotte Hornets, who will go eight years without a postseason appearance by the end of this season.
“I just came from the Knicks after having a lot of wins the last few years, and I'm just trying to step in and put some of the habits I've learned under.” [head coach Tom Thibodeau]“Try to bring a winning culture, try to bring it back and elevate everything,” Grimes said during Monday morning's shootout at Madison Square Garden. “The only place you can go now is with this team. So just try to come in, me and Evan, Evan has been a winner for many years in this league, so just try to come in and bring some winning habits to this young team.
The writing was on the wall
Grimes saw the writing on the wall. Not only did he know he was going to be traded, he felt it. The bread crumbs were obvious.
For starters, his relationship with coach Tom Thibodeau deteriorated year after year. Last season, Thibodeau pushed Grimes into the starting lineup and praised his abilities as a young 3-and-D wing.
In fact, reports indicate that the Knicks went so far as to make Grimes untouchable in trade negotiations with the Cleveland Cavaliers for All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell.
Grimes isn't buying it. After all, the Knicks suddenly traded him to players far below Mitchell's star status: Bojan Bogdanovic, who scores 20 points per game; and Alec Burks, a versatile winger who previously played under Thibs.
Value additions? Yes, but the Knicks star hardly refused to part ways with Grimes.
“They try to label you as a pariah and things like that, and that's the way things are from a media standpoint. Donovan is the guy you're trying to get, and everyone knows that if someone wants them, they're going to try everything they can to get you,” he said. “So, if they're going to take one person out of the deal, that's the way it goes. So the media is definitely driving things. It is what it is. You can't label just one person because obviously there are other people in on the deal if that's the case.
Grimes said he's not sure where things went south in his relationship with Thibodeau.
“It's understandable to know that the relationship last year was different than it was this year. But it's all love,” he said. “It's not the same as it was last year, but sometimes things are that way.”
He also said that competition for office played a role in his loss of popularity.
The Knicks signed Donte DiVincenzo to a four-year deal with Grimes entering the third year of his rookie contract.
Thibodeau decreed that Grimes will enter training camp but also said it is an open competition. After Grimes complained about his role in early December, Thibodeau inserted DiVincenzo into the starting lineup.
“I think you kind of know because he's a good player, so you have to find minutes for him for sure, but that's just the way the NBA works sometimes,” Grimes said. “There are a lot of good players in the NBA. On a good team, you have to find minutes for everyone. And that's the case sometimes.”
Last season, Grimes played a key role on a Knicks team plagued by injuries. At the start of this season, the Knicks were healthy and deep at center.
“There are a lot more players, more depth in my position, things like that,” he said. “I knew Jalen last year [Brunson] I was playing a lot of games, so I would have ended up getting more opportunities. But for the most part going into this season we had a good roster and a lot of minutes to give away.
Both sides are happy
The Pistons were happy to acquire a young player with the ability to do more than he showed in New York.
This appears to be the bet Detroit made – Grimes being more than just a shooter and a stout defender.
“Same thing you saw here: toughness and shooting for sure. We feel like he can do more in terms of ball handling and making plays, and that's something we wanted to explore,” coach Monty Williams said.
Grimes was already working with Jarrett Jack, the longtime NBA point guard, who is an assistant on Williams' staff. This season, he spent time training with both Penny Hardaway and JJ Redick.
“Jarrett Jack, I have a guy who played and he's able to be with me every day to actually watch film,” he said. “It's good to get back into the flow, and to have someone in your ear pushing you every day to go out there and play your game, and be who you are. That's definitely going to help me.”
Williams also appreciates Grimes' history, which includes stops with two meaningless head coaches: Kelvin Sampson in Houston and, of course, Thibodeau.
“I appreciate the guys that come from programs like Houston. After Coach Sampson, I'm going to take a walk in the park. “I can't imagine going from Houston to the Tibbs — I might as well stop there. …I learned a lot from that guy. I don't think he's appreciated the way he should be. I hear all the “it's rough and rough” and all that. This guy has an unreal mind for the game and cares about people and players like I've never seen before, so I appreciated the time I spent with him.
Grimes is part of the rebuilding. The Pistons entered Monday's game against the Knicks having won eight games and lost 48. It's hard for anyone to want to inherit this situation, but Grimes sees an opportunity.
Not only to expand his game on a young, scrappy Pistons team, but also to help pull the franchise off the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
“I think I know what it is. Monty and I have already talked about it,” he said. “They wouldn't have traded with me if I hadn't come to be one of them.” [core] Players on the team. So I think everyone definitely knows their role.
See more at New York Daily News
