Pistons trade deadline addition Grimes out for season
The Detroit Pistons have lost another core player in the home stretch of the season.
Quentin Grimes, who arrived Feb. 8 at the NBA trade deadline, will miss the rest of the season according to The Athletic. The 6-foot-5 guard appeared in just six games with the Pistons due to right knee soreness, and they’ll be without him for their remaining eight games.
That means Grimes will have missed 26 of the 32 games that he was on the team this season.
Grimes, the 25th pick of the 2021 draft, was one of Detroit’s primary targets during their roster shakeup in February. The Houston alumnus was one of the New York Knicks’ better perimeter defenders, and his 37.1% career mark from 3 also appealed. But knee soreness delayed his debut to Feb. 24, more than two weeks after his Feb. 8 arrival.
After four consecutive appearances, he missed two more games with knee soreness before playing his final two of the season. He had standout moments on defense, but only hit four of his 28 (14.3%) attempts from 3. In total, he played just 115 minutes with the Pistons, who got little insight into how the 23-year-old guard fits with the rest of the core.
“We’ll have to see, because the jury’s still out on that one,” Monty Williams said of ESPN’s report on Sunday. “He just didn’t play enough with us. He’s a young player that has to improve and grow. Just have to get him healthy so he can play.”
Grimes and Fontecchio, who has missed the Pistons’ past seven games with a toe injury, were brought in to patch up a shoddy defense and languishing offense. Fontecchio has impressed on both ends through his 16 games, averaging 15.4 points and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 42.6% from 3.
Fontecchio will become a restricted free agent this summer and is expected to remain a priority for the Pistons.
The front office will be operating off of a much smaller sample size for Grimes, who will enter restricted free agency next year if he isn’t extended this offseason.
Ausar Thompson (blood clot), Isaiah Stewart (hamstring strain) and Stanley Umude (ankle fracture) have also all suffered season-ending injuries.