Quentin Grimes’ apparent manager criticizes usage by Knicks: ‘Free QG’

MIAMI — Quentin Grimes’ camp apparently is unhappy with his postseason usage by the Knicks, which has been punctuated by a demotion from the starting lineup to the second unit since returning from a shoulder injury. 

A Twitter user identifying himself as a business manager for Grimes with the username Matthew Z. and @mattkeepgoing posted “Free QG” on the social media site soon after the Knicks’ Game 3 loss to the Heat on Saturday night. 

Grimes’ manager is known to be Matt Evans, who the second-year guard has known since he was a teenager growing up in the Houston area. 

The account also replied Sunday to a Grimes highlight video posted by another user asking “what happened to this Quentin Grimes? Bro used to play like Zach LaVine,” referring to the two-time All-Star guard with the Bulls. 

“This Quentin Grimes is alive and well and still getting better, ball ain’t in his hands to show you better than you know,” Matthew Z. tweeted. 

This Quentin Grimes is alive and well and still getting better, ball ain’t in his hands to show you better than you know. https://t.co/f3W8NXvVZq

— Matthew Z. (@mattkeepgoing) May 7, 2023

Shortly after the tweets went viral on Sunday, the bio that referred to the user as Grimes’ manager was scrubbed from the account, although the tweets were not deleted. 

The 22-year-old Grimes made 66 starts during the regular season and then the first three games of the opening round against Cleveland before sitting out the final two with a shoulder contusion.

He has come off the bench in all three games against the Heat, ceding his starting spot to midseason acquisition Josh Hart. 

Quentin Grimes has come off the bench for the first three games of the Knicks’ second-round series against the Heat.Corey Sipkin for the NY Post

Grimes averaged 11.3 points per game in the regular season, but that number has dipped to 4.3 over six postseason appearances. He scored eight points in 22 minutes off the bench in Saturday’s Game 3 loss, but he’s missed 15 of 18 3-point attempts in this year’s playoffs. 

Tom Thibodeau said Sunday that “everything is on the table” for Game 4, but he wouldn’t say whether he planned to make a lineup change involving Grimes and Hart. 

“When you get to the playoffs, you’re looking at matchups,” Thibodeau said. “When a guy comes back from an injury, is he completely healthy coming back? 

Quentin Grimes shoots during the Knicks’ Game 1 loss to the Heat on April 30. Charles Wenzelberg/NY Post

“So you look at all aspects of it. In some ways it could be better. It could impact another area. The bottom line is we all have to play a lot better.”