Quentin Grimes could realistically become the glue guy for the Los Angeles Lakers as a borderline elite guard defender and proficient catch-and-shoot specialist. Unfortunately, there's also a world in which Grimes' all-around shooting woes persist and his offensive quality in a heliocentric offense fails to match the cap hit his $60 million contract has created.
With no real middle ground between Grimes being worth the money at his best and struggling to warrant the four-year deal at any other level of play, he's the epitome of a make-or-break addition.
It may seem possible to trade a contract with an annual salary of $15 million, but it's often easier said than done. The Lakers know this as well as anyone, as Jarred Vanderbilt's offensive inconsistency and injury history have kept his four-year, $48 million deal on the books despite the front office's reported efforts to offload it.
Grimes may project to offer more two-way value than Vanderbilt on the surface, but trading a 6'4" wing with a faulty jump shot would be a tall task with four years—or even two or three—left on their deal.
The good news for Los Angeles is that Grimes checks pivotal boxes that can make the Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves backcourt work. Doncic and Reaves are an exceptional scoring and playmaking duo, but they both struggle on defense and need optimal spacing to excel in their preferred style of play.
Thankfully, Grimes is one of the best guard defenders in the NBA and an efficient catch-and-shoot option who can be a dream fit when he's at his best.
Can Quentin Grimes fix his jumper to be a true 3-and-D wing again?
Grimes has shot at least 38.1 percent from beyond the arc in three of his five NBA seasons. Unfortunately, he's shot 33.8 percent or worse in two of the past three campaigns. That simply won't suffice in an offense that revolves around two ball-dominant shot creators who prefer to get downhill.
The good news is that Grimes shot 38.3 percent on catch-and-shoot threes in 2025-26, which suggests that limiting his pull-up attempts—Grimes shot 24.0 percent on pull-up threes—is a potential resolution.
Grimes' catch-and-shoot proficiency has been a career-long strength. He buried 41.2 percent of his attempts in said scenarios in 2021-22, 40.0 percent in 2022-23, 35.1 percent in 2023-24, 39.4 percent in 2024-25, and the aforementioned 38.3 percent in 2025-26.
If Grimes can remain in the high end of that range in 2026-27, then Doncic and Reaves' jobs should be far easier to accomplish as the driving forces behind the Lakers' offense.
Can Quentin Grimes lock down guards to alleviate pressure from stars?
If Grimes can shoot efficiently, then the next question pertains to his ability to sustain a borderline elite level of play when defending guards in 2025-26. Doing so would take pressure off of Doncic and Reaves, who have struggled to hold their own in on-ball situations in previous seasons.
Thankfully, Grimes has given the Lakers ample reason to believe in him after turning in a tremendous defensive season with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2025-26.
Per Basketball Index, Grimes ranked in the 87th percentile in perimeter isolation defense, the 93rd percentile in off-ball chaser defense, and the 97th percentile in ball screen navigation. He also ranked in the 81st percentile in matchup difficulty and spent more than 61 percent of his possessions defending guards.
The Lakers will need Grimes to sustain that brilliance in 2026-27, when he'll be the lone defensive specialist among the projected perimeter starters.
Lakers have limited resources to replace Quentin Grimes if he struggles
If Grimes can simplify the game for Doncic and Reaves as a defender and shooter, he'll quickly become the glue that keeps this team together. His shooting will permit optimal perimeter spacing, while his defense will allow Reaves to spend more time on wings than point guards, and Doncic to potentially be hidden on players who don't often create their own offense.
If he can't, however, his contract will weigh this Lakers era down as a costly salary they'd likely struggle to offload.
Los Angeles already has Vanderbilt's 2026-27 salary of $12,428,571 and his 2027-28 player option worth $13,285,714 limiting its financial mobility. With more than $120 million per season going to Doncic, Reaves, and Walker Kessler, adding another eight-figure salary that borders on dead weight would greatly deplete the Lakers' depth—as well as its ability to acquire it.
It's a high-stakes situation for Grimes to find himself in, but as a player who accepted a four-year contract, it's the burden he now carries.
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