Tom Thibodeau Reunites With Knicks Protege

Grimes began his NBA career as the 25th overall pick of the 2021 draft after spending his last two collegiate seasons at UH. Originally drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers, he was sent east to the Knicks in a swap for Keon Johnson.

Grimes originally struggled to find minutes under Thibodeau, who has gained a reputation for not playing rookies, but he eventually took over the Knicks' starting shooting guard position from the tenured Evan Fournier. He himself was eventually usurped by newcomer Donte DiVincenzo and he was eventually traded to the Detroit Pistons at the 2024 trade deadline in a deal that acquired Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks.

The former Cougar began last season with the Dallas Mavericks before he was another deadline yield, sent to the Sixers in exchange for Caleb Martin. He was one of the few silver linings of the Sixers' woebegone 2025 effort, averaging 21.9 points on just under 47 percent from the field and 5.2 rebounds in 28 showings, all of which would've served as season-long career-bests. Grimes was a restricted free agent but has not yet procured a long-term contract, which could lead to him signing a short, team-friendly deal with Philadelphia.

Though things between Grimes and the Knicks ended on a bit of a sour note, he credited Thibodeau for getting his career off to a strong start by having him guard New York's tougher opponents.

“Credit to Thibs,” Grimes said when he faced the Knicks as an opponent back in November, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. “He gave me a lot of those hard assignments early in my career and I feel like I was able to get a good understanding of how to guard All-Stars, superstars, and it gets me going.”