DALLAS — Quentin Grimes could have claimed revenge was his motivation Wednesday night after a rocky end to his Knicks career, but he instead praised Tom Thibodeau's performance.
“Credit to Thibs,” Grimes said after the Mavericks defeated the Knicks 129-114. “I feel like he gave me a lot of difficult challenges early on in my career so I had a good understanding of how to guard All-Stars and superstars. It keeps me going.”
Grimes was traded from the Knicks to the Pistons in February amid ongoing conflict between the two sides over dissatisfaction with his role, desire to be transferred, and circumstances.
Grimes was traded to the Mavericks from Detroit in a separate exchange over the summer.
He started the season disappointed, unable to get a contract extension and playing sparingly for a team with title aspirations.
But Grimes, who will be a restricted free agent in 2025, has been given a bigger role in recent weeks after Luka Doncic was sidelined again with a wrist injury, starting Wednesday in the backcourt alongside Kyrie Irving. Participated.
“[Mavericks coach] J-Kid was trying to figure out lineups and things like that,” Grimes said. “I knew it would work itself out. It's a long, long season. So go in there and let me feel my impact as if I were in New York.”
The Texas native and former University of Houston player also appreciates being close to home and not having to commute to MSG from the Knicks' infamous practice facility in Tarrytown.
“It doesn't take me 45 or 50 minutes to get to the arena anymore. It's okay,” Grimes laughed.
On Wednesday, Grimes faced a team that was almost indistinguishable from the one he joined the Knicks with.
The only players remaining on the active roster are Myles McBride and Jericho Sims, who were drafted with Grimes in 2021.
Of all the movements, he found one particularly surprising.
“The biggest one was Donte.” [DiVincenzo]'' Grimes said. “Just watching him last year, I thought throughout the playoffs that Donte was definitely going to be the guy to live in New York.
“But that's the NBA's job. Everybody has to do what's right for the organization, but I think that was something that really struck me in the offseason, for sure.”
OG Anunoby scored a career-best 40 points against Denver on Monday, but he went from hero to dud, scoring just eight points against Dallas.
“That's part of the game,” Thibodeau said. “I mean, everything went well for him in Denver, but it didn't work tonight.”
