Houston Rockets Interested In Acquiring Knicks Guard Quentin Grimes

Ian Begley of SNY.TV reports that the Houston Rockets are among the teams reportedly interested in acquiring New York Knicks guard Quentin Grimes. The other teams named were the Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies, and Utah Jazz. The 23-year-old shooting guard lost the starting shooting guard job earlier in the season to Donte DiVincenzo.

Per Begley, Grimes is “difficult to trade on his own because he’s making $2.3 million, so it would be tough for the Knicks to find a player who helps them win immediately and makes a commensurate salary. New York can obviously add other players to their package to make the math work — including Evan Fournier’s $19 million expiring deal is an option.”

Grimes, the 25th overall pick in the 2021 draft, attended college at the University of Houston. He’s currently in the third year of his rookie scale contract. The Knicks exercised their option on Grimes’ fourth year back on October 30, 2023. In 2024-2025, Grimes will make $4.29 million; he can become a restricted free agent in 2025.

Grimes, a career 38.1% three point shooter, would be an interesting fit for a Rockets team in desperate need of shooting. He’s shooting 37.1% on 3s on 4.7 attempts per game this season. Last season, Grimes shot 38.6% on 5.7 three-point attempts per game.

Houston’s starter at shooting guard, Jalen Green, also in his third season, is in the midst of a difficult campaign during which he has failed to live up to expectations. Green, the second overall pick in the same draft in which Grimes was drafted (2021), is shooting just 39.8% overall from the floor and 32.3% on 3s this season. Green was originally thought to be the future of Houston’s franchise but due to his struggles, he has had to take a backseat to budding star big man Alperen Sengun. Rookie Cam Whitmore, the 20th overall pick in the 2023 draft, has come on strong in recent weeks.

The Rockets’ offense is built around the high post talents of Sengun. But due to Houston’s lack of perimeter shooting, particularly in the starting lineup, teams have been able to load up inside and cut off his driving lanes. A player like Grimes could help in that regard.

The Rockets are expected to be dangling the contracts of Victor Oladipo ($9.45 million), Jock Landale ($8 million), and Jae’Sean Tate ($6.5 million) in trades in advance of the February 8 trade deadline in search of upgrade. It’s believed that the team’s foremost priority is to acquire a backup center.