Grimes is secure as a starter

The addition of Donte DiVincenzo to an already-crowded backcourt hasn’t changed the lineup. At least until more data is accumulated during preseason and training camp, Quentin Grimes remains the starting 2-guard.

“The big thing when you look at last season and you look at what our starting group did, you go in with the idea that’s where we’re going to start,” Thibodeau said of his team that went 37-22 to end the season. “Now of course, you haven’t played any games, and nothing has unfolded yet. So you base your decisions on the information you have. And that’s the information that we have, and we’re going to go from there.”

Grimes, 23, a two-way threat, supplanted Evan Fournier in the lineup early last season and became a catalyst to the team’s postseason push. He suffered a shoulder injury in the first round against the Cavaliers and was benched briefly for Josh Hart in the following series against Miami.

The other starters are Jalen Brunson, RJ Barrett, Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson. With Grimes, that lineup played 526 minutes together last season with a +6.7 net rating.

➤ Thibodeau dismissed Fournier’s complaints with statistics.

Asked about the Frenchman’s public discontent with his role, Thibodeau said that the veteran guard’s benching last season was simply a matter of winning over losing.

“I didn’t come into [last] season thinking we were going to do the things that we did. We did it because we didn’t have success one way. So, we adjusted,” Thibodeau said. “And then the next group that went in, it’s hard to argue with 37-22 [while Fournier was mostly out of the rotation] and a plus-5 net rating. So, it is what it is. Your job is to stay ready. So whatever you’re doing, go out there and do it. Be part of the team.”

Fournier was benched early last season for Grimes, logging just 27 games while averaging 17 minutes, 6.1 points and shooting just 33 percent.