Grimes on the Move?

It sounds like New York's third year wing is on the trade block. Let's dive deep into who the Knicks might be looking at.

Good morning. We have lots to get to, starting with a bombshell report from Fred Katz about Quentin Grimes possibly being on the trade block. Today, I’ll go through the list of possible trade candidates the Knicks could be looking at from the Eastern Conference, and then later this week, I’ll run through the West. Let’s get to it…

Game Night

TONIGHT: Rockets at Knicks, 7:30 pm, MSG Network

Injury Report: Jalen Brunson is questionable, and my guess is that he will be a game time decision for the third game in a row. Josh Hart is also questionable with tendinopathy in his left knee.

For the Rockets, Tari Eason is out.

Halftime Zoom: Here’s the link for tonight.

What to watch for: An appropriate Randle response.

I took it easy on Randle yesterday, but it’s hard to stay in a forgiving mood after rewatching some of his more lethargic possessions from Monday night (and the two games before it, for that matter). Something is up with Julius - a shocking statement, I know - but he needs to solve it fast before memories of the bad old times really start to resurface in full.

News & Notes

🏀 James Dolan is getting sued.

According to a lawsuit filed in California yesterday, Dolan made “unwelcome advances” toward the plaintiff, who was a massage therapist that met Dolan when he was touring with his band in 2013. The suit claims that she felt “obligated to submit to sex with him,” and that Dolan eventually orchestrated a meeting between the plaintiff and Harvey Weinstein, who sexually assaulted her in her hotel room. Dolan denies all wrongdoing. Here’s all the details if you’re interested in reading more.

🏀 Shams reported late last night that the Pacers and Raptors are closing in on a deal which would send Pascal Siakam to Indiana for Bruce Brown, three first round picks, and salary filler (potentially Obi Toppin). Obviously this would elevate the Pacers in the East, and mark them as a significant threat to snag one of the six guaranteed playoff spots.

In other words, New York’s life may become far more difficult in the near future.

Grimes on the Move?

Yesterday, friend of KFS and Athletic beat reporter Fred Katz reported that the Knicks are looking to make an upgrade. They know full well that they don’t have enough play-making on the roster, and specifically that their offense descends below the level of the league’s worst unit when Jalen Brunson is off the floor. They need a jolt.

But getting a jolt won’t come cheap. Quentin Grimes was mentioned in Fred’s piece as a player the Knicks are “actively fielding offers for.”

Despite the fact that Grimes was highly valued in the Donovan Mitchell trade talks in 2022, we probably shouldn’t be shocked by this development. Grimes has averaged just 17.5 minutes since the trade, and Fred reports that he “has fallen out of favor with head coach Tom Thibodeau of late.” If the Knicks brought in another ball-handler, the minutes of at least one rotation player would be eliminated.

Deuce McBride just signed a contract extension and can’t be dealt until the summer. More importantly, he’s been balling out. Even if the Knicks acquire a traditional backup point guard, McBride has the defensive chops to stay on the court regardless, especially with real size at the three. Letting him play at least a dozen minutes a night shouldn’t be an issue.

As for other options, Josh Hart can’t be traded until the summer. Donte DiVincenzo’s trade restriction just lifted, but he’s been one of the best shooters in basketball. He’s not going anywhere. Grimes is the obvious choice to go out, especially since he should be able to bring back a solid player in return.

In a perfect world, the Knicks swap out Grimes for someone who takes both his minutes and lessens the need to use Josh Hart for as much time every game, as Benjy noted on Twitter Monday night:

Since the trade, Randle has averaged 35.7 minutes, Anunoby 35.2, Hart 27.2 and DiVincenzo 24.9. Essentially, Hart is playing 24 minutes a night at small forward (with OG soaking up the rest of the SF minutes and getting his remaining dozen as Randle’s backup) and another handful at shooting guard. Whoever the Knicks get would take all of the Grimes minutes, Hart’s handful of minutes at guard, and if they’re good enough, maybe a few from Brunson in an effort to keep him fresh. That’s about 25 a night. The only way they’d get up to 30 is if its a player with real wing size, which would then push Hart’s minutes down even further (Randle and Anunoby are surefire bets to stay where they are).

Keep all of this in mind when we go through through targets, not only as it relates to their positions, but how much time they’d expect / demand after a trade.

Using Grimes in a trade now also satisfies New York’s main priority: keeping all of their own future picks and swaps available for a bigger trade down the line. It makes sense to build a trade package around the third year wing, plus one or more of the protected picks the Knicks own courtesy of other teams.

That brings us to one final box the front office needs to check. As I’ve written about recently and as Jeremy Cohen has frequently discussed on the KFS pod, New York needs to have ample outgoing salary if they’re hoping to swing a big trade. Right now, that’s Evan Fournier, but in an ideal world, they’d replace Fournier with a better player - one who would have value not only as outgoing salary, but on the court as well.

Add it all up, and it gives us a very specific list of requirements for any trade target:

☑️ Can get into the paint / create an advantage on an offensive possession

☑️ Has a contract that extends into at least next season

☑️ Won’t break the asset bank (doesn’t require any of NY’s own future firsts), but…

☑️ Is good enough to justify trading Grimes for

☑️ Spaces the floor

☑️ The deal works under the cap

☑️ Will be a desirable asset as part of a larger trade package this summer

☑️ Won’t create (another) unwanted rotation logjam (i.e., doesn’t need to start)

Is anyone available who checks all of these boxes? Between today and Friday, I’m going to go through all of the possible trade candidate, focusing on the East today and the West later in the week. In case you missed it, I already covered Dejounte Murray here a few weeks ago, so check out that piece for further analysis.

In no particular order…