What he meant to write was, “Steal of the Draft.”
Today at TheAthletic.com, John Hollinger rated this year’s sophomore class. (Subscription required.)
His “Underwhelming Top Four” included Rookie-of-the-Year Scottie Barnes (Toronto), Evan Mobley (Cleveland), Jalen Green (Houston), and Cade Cunningham (Detroit), a quartet that has “mostly disappointed this campaign.” Players he regards more favorably include Orlando’s Franz Wagner and Houston’s Alperen Şengün.
At the bottom of the article, past such illustrious sections as “Group III: Treading Water”, “Group IV: Trending . . . not up”, and “Group V: Bustville”, there’s a final section called “Tier VI: Past the top 20.” Here we find Quentin Grimes, the 25th pick in last year’s Draft and starting shooting guard for your New York Knickerbockers.
Hollinger writes about the 22-year-old out of Houston University:
“Grimes has settled in as a fifth starter with the Knicks, a classic 3-and-D shooting guard. Grimes isn’t much of a threat off the bounce and averages just 17.5 points per 100 possessions, but he’s a volume catch-and-shoot 3-point weapon who has made 37.5 percent of his triples as a pro. Additionally, he’s become a solid defender with enough muscle to check 3s.”
The young Knick has been key to New York’s defensive resurgence and is often their best defender on the floor. While Hollinger downplays Quentin’s offensive productivity, Grimes has averaged 15.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 36 minutes in his last 10 games, while shooting 46% from the field and 40% from downtown.
Occasional mistakes have revealed his inexperience (e.g., getting trapped late in a close game), and he is never called for a foul that he doesn’t contest, but on the whole Quentin has demonstrated maturity and poise while cementing himself as a cornerstone of the franchise’s plans.
Hollinger lumps him in with such young players as Herb Jones and Jose Alvarado (New Orleans, both), Bones Hyland (Denver), and Ayo Dosunmu (Chicago), and according to him, QDot will need to improve his ball handling if he wants to advance beyond his current skillset and usage. “It’s not easy to see how he can evolve much past this point without some radical upgrades in his handle, but he could hold down a role like this for a decade.”
What do you think of Hollinger’s assessment? Does Quentin’s ball handling hold him back or does Hollinger need to watch more Knicks games? Air it out below.