Grimes and McBride Show Out in Vegas
Quentin Grimes and Deuce McBride combined to rack up 45 points, 11 rebounds, 9 assists, 5 made three-pointers and three steals in Thursday's victory over Orlando. (a.k.a. "The Grimey Deuce Special")
Before diving into the latest updates in the Donovan Mitchell saga, we have some actual on-court action to discuss.
New York secured another Summer League victory last night in Vegas, notching a 102-89 victory over the Magic. And once again, as has been the case in each game he's played this summer, Quentin Grimes was the best all-around player on the floor. He finished with 22 points, six rebounds, four assists, and four made three-pointers.
In addition to effortlessly knocking down shots from behind the arc, Grimes continues to showcase his full offensive arsenal in Summer League action. When defenders, fearful of his outside stroke, press up too tight on the perimeter or close out too quickly, Grimes has blown by them, creating scoring opportunities for himself or his teammates.
Through the four games New York has played thus far, Grimes is averaging 23.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 3.8 made treys and 1.3 steals in just 29 minutes per contest. The only other player in Vegas averaging at least 20/4/4 is Orlando's Paolo Banchero, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. With New York tied for the best record at 3-1, Grimes is the odds-on favorite to take home the Summer League MVP award.
The Knicks also got solid contributions from Jericho Sims (12 points, ten rebounds, an assist and a steal) and Feron Hunt (16 points, four rebounds, three dimes) in Thursday's win over Orlando. However, the team's leading scorer in this contest was Miles "Deuce" McBride.
Deuce played his best game of the summer last night, racking up 23 points (on 9-of-13 shooting) to go along with five rebounds, five assists, three steals and a triple. This was the aggressive version of McBride that Knicks fans hoped they would see in Vegas, as Deuce continually looked to lower his shoulder and attack the tin. His dribble also looked a bit tighter throughout the night.
McBride is averaging 16.8 points, 5.5 assists, 2.8 assists, 2.5 steals and 2.0 triples in Summer League thus far. He's shooting a stellar 52.2% from the floor, 34.8% from downtown and 91.7% from the free-throw stripe. And, as expected, his defense has been suffocating, as he relentlessly pressures opposing point guards a full 94 feet each possession. McBride's ten total steals are tied for the summer league lead.
Thursday night's performance from Grimes and McBride is particularly impressive considering the clangorous rumbling of trade rumors that have only increased in the past 48 hours. These two kids have undoubtedly received dozens of texts and DMs from family and friends asking if they were about to be traded to Utah. Imagine how these dudes must feel every time a mobile alert from Woj or Shams pops up on their phone.
This brings us to the latest on the Mitchell front. Last night, Andy Larsen, who is the Jazz beat writer for The Salt Lake Tribune, reported that Utah initially asked for a "huge, essentially unprecedented return" from New York in exchange for Donovan, including "a majority" of New York the eight first-round picks New york can part with, in addition to a bevy of young players ("some combination of" Grimes, IQ, Obi, McBride and Cam Reddish). Larsen did reiterate what others have suggested, that RJ Barrett does not seem to be part of the discussions. As cited previously, Barrett's looming extension means he is far more valuable to New York than Utah.
Larsen reports that the Knicks made a "significant" counteroffer to Utah but didn't get into specifics. He also suggested the high-priced veteran heading to Utah is more likely to be Evan Fournier (possibly along with Derrick Rose) than Julius Randle.
For what it's worth, in a column posted to ESPN on Thursday, Bobby Marks suggested this hypothetical trade would make sense for both sides:
The Knicks receive:
Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gay (who has two years and $12.7 million left on his contract)
Utah receives:
Evan Fournier,
Cam Reddish,
Obi Toppin,
Miles McBride and five first-rounders:
Knicks' 2023, 2025 and 2027 first-round picks
Mavericks' 2023 pick (top-10 protected)
Wizards' 2023 pick (top-14 protected)
In response, Larsen tweeted that the Jazz would want "more picks ('29?), pick swaps, and/or Grimes."
Although things seemed to be heating up in a hurry yesterday, Shams Charania of The Athletic threw some cold water on the idea that a deal was nearly complete. When asked about trade talks between Utah and New York on NBA TV Thursday evening, Charania said he "expects this to be a dance that plays out over the next two-to-three weeks or the rest of the offseason."
Larsen reported last night, "While no timeline has been set from either side on a deal, most expect a resolution where the Jazz and Knicks simply agree to terms on an offer somewhere in between the current two asking prices in a matter of hours, days or weeks."
The other bit of news that broke Thursday, which is tangentially related to the Knicks-Jazz discussions, was the Phoenix Suns matching the Indiana Pacers' four-year, $133 million offer sheet for restricted free agent center Deandre Ayton.
As a result, the Suns cannot trade Ayton until mid-January. Consequently, Phoenix can't include Ayton in any deal for Kevin Durant this offseason, which significantly reduces the likelihood that KD ends up in Phoenix.
ESPN's Brian Windhorst said this morning the Ayton news "increases the likelihood" that Mitchell ends up in New York, adding that Ayton signing with Phoenix "moves the Knicks even further into the favorite spot for Donovan Mitchell."
The best-case scenario for the Knicks would be the Nets trading Durant to Miami in the very near future. This would essentially eliminate the Heat from the Donovan Mitchell sweepstakes, which would take a great deal of leverage away from Danny Ainge and the Jazz.
As of now, it seems the Knicks are offering the best possible package, by far. However, with Pat Riley sniffing around, Leon Rose can't feel overly confident. It's possible Riley finds a way to flip Tyler Herro (as well as Kyle Lowry or Duncan Robinson?) for a bunch of picks and can cobble together the massive collection of draft capital Ainge is seeking.
So, we wait…
Oh, by the way, if you are in NYC on Saturday night and looking for something to do, you might want to check out the Brooklyn Cyclones game, where some guy named Donovan Mitchell will be throwing out the first pitch. The team will also hand out Mitchell bobbleheads to fans in attendance.
Can't make this stuff up.
much ado about nothing, mitchell not worth all those assets, grimes is improving, play him at sg, and keep all your assets for something else