Knicks face familiar foes in Pistons guards Quentin Grimes and Evan Fournier

A deal between the New York Knicks and the Detroit Pistons was one of the biggest trades of the 2024 NBA trade deadline. New York traded 23-year-old guard Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier, Malachi Flynn, Ryan Archidiacono, and two second-round picks in exchange for Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks. When the two teams play each other in New York on Monday night, the game will have extra meaning to some players on each side.

Quentin Grimes

Drafted with the 25th overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft, the former Houston Cougar spent the first three and a half years of his career in a Knicks uniform. He played 46 games in his rookie season and averaged six points while shooting 38.1 percent from three in 17 minutes per game.

Quentin Grimes would impress in the 2022 Summer League the summer before his sophomore season. The six-foot-five guard helped lead the Knicks to the championship game and earned All-Summer League First Team honors.

Starting his second season out with injury, when Grimes returned, he manned the starting shooting guard position all season. Starting 66 of 71 games, QG made a second-year leap, given more opportunity. He saw his points rise to 11.3 per game and shoot 38.6 percent from three in 30 minutes per game. Only Julius Randle and Immanuel Quickley hit more three-pointers on the Knicks that season than Grimes. He also chipped in with 3.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Grimes finished the 2022–23 regular season as a +185. Only Immanuel Quickley had a higher plus/minus among Knicks players to play a full season. In terms of win shares, he was +3.2 in offensive, +1.6 in defensive, and +4.8 in total. He had a nice regular season and looked like an integral part of the Knick’s future.

The 2023 NBA playoffs were Grimes’s first taste of playoff basketball. In nine games, he averaged 5.1 points on only 40.2 effective field goal shooting. New York certainly could’ve used more from him, but a lot of players on the Knicks struggled in the playoffs.

Quentin Grimes was presumed to be the team’s starting shooting guard this season. The 23-year-old was going to continue to develop as a shooter and wing defender. Unfortunately, he had his struggles, and offseason signee Donte DiVincenzo ultimately took over the starting shooting guard spot. His three-point shooting dropped from 38.6 percent in 2022–23 to 36.3 percent this season before getting traded.

In 45 games this season, Grimes started 18 and averaged 7.3 points, two rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 20.2 minutes per game. Grimes is young, and there is a lot to like about the athletic guard; it was just the price the Knicks had to pay to get the deal done. New York picked up two veteran players in a win-now move, and Detroit got an intriguing young player who should be a part of their rotation for years to come.

Grimes played his first game with the Pistons on Saturday night. He had five points, two rebounds, and four assists in 26 minutes off the bench in Detroit's 112-109 loss at home to the Orlando Magic.

Evan Fournier

Evan Fournier is happy to finally be out of New York. The Knicks guard had a rocky two-and-a-half seasons with the Knicks. Fournier started in 80 games in the 2021–22 season. He averaged 14.1 points and also set a Knicks franchise record with 241 three-pointers made. New York would go 37-45 and miss the playoffs.

The following season, Fournier lost his starting shooting guard spot to Pistons teammate Quentin Grimes. He would only appear in 27 games in the 2022–23 season and play 459 minutes. Head coach Tom Thibodeau opted to play younger players such as Immanuel Quickley, Quentin Grimes, and Miles McBride over Fournier. The Knicks shooting guard got zero minutes in the 2023 playoffs despite the Knicks not being able to knock down an outside shot.

After a fractured relationship, it was only a matter of time before New York traded the 31-year-old in his 12th season. He’ll now get a chance to play on a Pistons team that already has their offseason vacation booked. In four games on his new team, Fournier is averaging 11.5 points and has scored in double figures in all four games. He also played 24 minutes in his debut back on February 13th. That was more than the 15, 17, and five minutes he played in three appearances for the Knicks this season. He’s knocked down 9/19 three-pointers and will be motivated to have a good showing in front of his former team and the Garden crowd on Monday night.

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