Every contender in the modern NBA needs a player who, no matter the circumstances of a game, can go out there and fill whatever role is needed on any given night. The type of player who will do whatever it takes to win and can thrive in whatever role their head coach asks them to play on a night-to-night basis. The Los Angeles Lakers got their version of that player in Quentin Grimes.
I say this with nothing but respect for all fans, but the casual fan is typically beyond uneducated about who Grimes is as a player. The way he has adapted into whatever role he’s been asked to play over his five-year, four-team NBA career is insane.
Quentin Grimes is the perfect shape-shifter for the Lakers
For background, let's start at the beginning.
When Grimes came out of Houston and arrived in the NBA as a member of the New York Knicks, he was billed as this 3-and-D off guard. From day one in the league, that was the role he was asked to play for the Knicks, and that’s where he found early career success.
By his second season in New York, he was the darling of the fan base, starting in 66 of his 71 games played, averaging 11.1 points and shooting 38.6 percent from deep. Grimes was their primary point-of-attack defender and looked like someone who would carve out a long NBA career as a high-level role player.
Then Donte DiVincenzo arrived. Grimes saw his efficiency drop and his starting spot disappear. By the deadline, he was dealt to the Detroit Pistons, where he played six meaningless games for a tanking team.
The Dallas Mavericks called his phone in the 2024 offseason. Dallas, fresh off a Finals appearance, needed to replace Derrick Jones Jr. and the high-level point-of-attack defense that he gave them. Grimes checked that box.
Grimes next to Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving sounded sweet. Then injuries piled up for Dallas and we never really got to see that trio do anything. What we did see was another evolution from Grimes as a player.
For a stretch in January when both Luka and Irving were out, we saw Grimes operate as a lead guard. A backcourt of him and Klay Thompson forced head coach Jason Kidd to put the ball in Grimes' hands, and the results were interesting.
He was creating his own shots at a high level and showing off playmaking instincts that made many of us question what Grimes would look like with the ball in his hands more. While it was a small five-game sample, Grimes averaged 14.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game.
Most teams would hold onto a 24-year-old and soon-to-be restricted free agent showing this type of growth, but not Nico Harrison. He dumped him off to the Philadelphia 76ers.
That’s where Grimes has been the last season and a half. The final 28 games of the 2024-25 season after Grimes was traded to the 76ers were electric. With nothing to play for, Grimes wasn’t asked to be a role player; Nick Nurse just put the ball in his hands and gave him the green light.
Grimes was putting up near 30 burgers every night, going off for 46 points and taking 27 shots against the Houston Rockets. He posted numbers many of us never knew would be possible for a player originally looked at as a 3-and-D off guard.
Last season, it seemed like the 76ers had no clue what to do with Grimes as he came off the bench and was basically just another bucket getter for them. This is why so many Lakers fans aren’t too hyped about signing him to a four-year $60 million contract.
Am I a little biased about this signing? Yes. Is Grimes one of my favorite active role players? Yes. But it’s hard not to see the value he could bring to this team because of all the different roles he’s thrived in throughout his career.
Primarily, fans should be expecting the 3-and-D Knicks version of himself. But if Luka goes down for a game and the team needs a playmaker and lead initiator, he can be that. If Austin Reaves misses a few games and Luka needs another creator and scorer, Grimes can be that too.
The way Grimes has rounded out his game in his five years in the NBA is so impressive. This season for the Lakers, he can be the team's version of that DC superhero Plastic Man who morphs into whatever JJ Redick needs from him on any given night.
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