07-09-2024, 06:09 PM
(07-09-2024, 05:59 PM)F Gump Wrote: I hope you guys are right.
But his numbers were meh at best, and I don't think either of NY or DET would have traded him if they thought he was a useful player. Both teams tossed in the towel. And the idea that DET traded him away, because they want players who can win (in favor of THJ, no less!), should make you give pause.
I'll be glad to be wrong if he does good stuff in DAL, but I'm not counting any chickens on this one. Just a young guy, with a chance to try him out and see if there's anything worth having (expiring contract), and then figure it out from there imo.
It's not just the folks on this board excited about adding him (new toy syndrome), it's the greater basketball community as a whole. But, I've seen more than one informed NBA observer wonder about the same things you're hinting at here, so I don't think this POV should be dismissed. I think the departure from NY can be explained away, but to your point, it has happened twice in a row.
If it wasn't about injuries (which I find encouraging, if true) then maybe it was social/attitude based? It's possible that he just wasn't psyched about getting shipped out of NY and allowed it to ruin his time in DET. It was probably tough for a young guy like that to be the starting 2-guard on a playoff team one year and then shipped off to an awful team the next. Guys like Hardaway and Harris probably view the opportunity as a lifeline (minutes and money, and one of their last chances at either), but I wonder how a young guy like Grimes saw that change.
Anyway, the Dinwiddie thing made me a believer in the power of scenery changes. He was supposed to be a malcontent in Washington after leaving BRK, and they couldn't wait to get rid of him. Come to find out he was trying to get them to play winning basketball (and they actually won some games early that year before taking the ball out of his hands) which "some people" (*cough*Kuzma*cough) didn't like. All of that to say, maybe Grimes and DET just didn't mix? If he's happy to be here, maybe we'll see the Grimes from two years ago. Here's hoping.