Sixers’ trade deadline bet on Quentin Grimes has paid off early and often
Playing for his fourth team in less than a calendar year, Grimes has made an immediate impact, highlighted by his 30-point performance in his first start with the Sixers on Wednesday.
The 76ers have placed a wager as massive as Guerschon Yabusele’s shoulders on a player on his fourth NBA team in less than a calendar year.
On Tuesday, Quentin Grimes was thrust into the starting lineup after intermission against the Toronto Raptors. And with Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid sidelined, the shooting guard got his first start as a Sixer vs. the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday.
He rewarded Sixers coach Nick Nurse by finishing with 30 points and nine rebounds. In his four games since being acquired from the Dallas Mavericks, Grimes is averaging 16.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and a steal in 32.8 minutes.
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The 24-year-old is a little surprised that Nurse has relied on him this quickly.
“But I feel like you’ve got to build that trust,” Grimes said. “And I kind of feel like we got a good feel for each other pretty early. I respected him for what he did with Toronto when I played for him my first couple of seasons. He got a chip there.
“So he knows what he’s talking about. So I definitely feel very good about our relationship already just after the four games.”
In Grimes, the Sixers acquired a younger, healthier, and better shooting version of the 29-year-old Caleb Martin, the player he was swapped for. Martin last played on Jan. 10 because of various injuries. While he’s dealing with a sprained hip, Grimes is showcasing his versatility.
The fourth-year veteran made four three-pointers on Wednesday and has nine altogether since his arrival. But he also displayed his ballhandling and an ability to run an offense if needed. This is nothing new for Grimes.
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“I feel like I’ve shown that the whole year in Dallas, really,” he said. “J-Kidd [coach Jason Kidd] had me on the ball. He had me with Luka [Dončić] out, Kyrie [Irving] out, bringing the ball up initiating the offense, making the right read off closeouts, attacking. Throwing the lobs to [Dereck Lively II] or whoever it might be, I feel like I made the right reads. I kind of did a lot of that so far this season.”
Grimes has always been a solid ball handler. He played point guard predominantly at Woodland College Park High School in the Houston area. As a senior, he garnered McDonald’s All American honors and was named Texas Mr. Basketball. Regarded as the eighth-ranked college prospect in the Class of 2018, Grimes chose to play at Kansas over Kentucky, Texas, and Marquette.
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After the season, he declared for the 2018 NBA draft, but withdrew before the deadline and transferred to Houston.
“At U of H, I was a [shooting] guard,” Grimes said. “I was still bringing the ball up getting us into the stuff. I feel like my first year with the Knicks, you got to kind of earn your stripes a little bit playing for Thibs [coach Tom Thibodeau] and stuff like that and building trust with stuff like that.
“Once I got to Dallas this [season], yeah, it kind of took off. With Nick [Nurse], he’s done a great job of helping me just not worrying about anything. Go out and play hard and everything will take care of itself.”