Though still early in his career, Quentin Grimes is not a player who has been known for his defense.
Quite the opposite, actually.
Grimes’ offense is predominantly what got him his big four-year contract this summer from the Lakers. At his best, he averaged 21.9 points per game after being traded to the Sixers last season and has proven to be a dynamic combo guard.
But his defense? That’s never been his calling card. But given the role he’s about to take with the Lakers, there’s an expectation of productivity
on that end, both from the team and from Grimes himself.
In a recent interview on “Mason & Ireland” on ESPN LA, Grimes spoke about his role in LA and why he’s excited to show what he can do defensively.
“That was really one of the bigger selling points. Talking with JJ and then having them be able to pitch me what my role [will] look like, having a pretty a pretty big offensive role within the team. But also having a big leadership role on defense as well as taking on that challenge every night of guarding the best players and wanting that responsibility. I want to have that challenge every night. So, that was really the two main things when I was choosing [a team] in free agency.”
In essence, Grimes is being brought in to replace Marcus Smart. It’s certainly not a like-for-like replacement, but that’s the role he’ll take on the roster. There’s a strong possibility he steps into the starting lineup and, if that’s the case, he’ll have to be able to defend at a high level alongside Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves.
He’s still a young player and is athletic. There’s plenty of reason to believe he could become a solid defensive player. But it would be him showing a skill that he hasn’t demonstrated a ton of during his career.
The Lakers are betting he can shine in a bigger, different role. Grimes wants to step up in said role. Now it’ll be a matter of actions matching words when the games start.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
