Mavs guard Quentin Grimes happy to be back playing in Texas

On July 6, when guard Quentin Grimes first discovered he had been traded from the Detroit Pistons to the Mavericks for Tim Hardaway Jr. and three second-round draft picks, he was ecstatic.

After all, Grimes was born in Houston and graduated from The Woodlands College Park High School in the Houston suburb of The Woodlands. He also played college basketball from 2019-21 at the University of Houston and led the Cougars to the 2021 NCAA Final Four.

So, any chance for Grimes to get back to continue his career in the NBA in the Lone Star State was right up his alley. Especially if it’s with a Mavs’ squad that was competing in the NBA Finals less than three weeks before they acquired Grimes.

“When I first got the call (of the trade) I was super excited knowing Dallas has been trying to get me for a while now – the past couple of years,” Grimes said. “So, just being able to come to a team that just come off a Finals run and probably was right there knocking on the door to winning a championship, I was super excited just to come to the team and bring what I know I can do every single night for this team and hopefully get that ring this upcoming season.”

Having friendly faces in the stands during Mavs’ games played in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio is an added bonus for Grimes, who played the first two-and-a-half years of his career with the New York Knicks before they traded him to Detroit on Feb. 8.

“I’m going to have a lot of family at the games, which is good to see familiar faces,” Grimes said. “They don’t have to take a three-hour flight (from Houston) to New York. It’s cold up there. I’m used to Texas weather — being in Houston during most of the off-season, so it’s going to be pretty fun having a lot of familiar faces at the game.

“Being a Texas kid, I’m not too far from home, but you’re not at home, which I think is pretty good. So, my mom’s got to drive three or four hours to come holler at me, and that’s pretty good.”

The Mavs are thrilled to have a player of Grimes’ caliber on board. They like the grit, determination and physicality which he plays with.

“He can guard,” center Dereck Lively II said. “He’s a great ball handler. I like his change of pace.

“He can shoot the ball very well, and I like his rhythm. So, it’s going to be able to have another tool like that who’s athletic, who knows how to make the right play, and he’s always able to learn. That’s a great asset to have on the team.”

Grimes averaged 7.3 points in 45 games while playing 20.2 minutes for the Knicks last season, and 5.3 points in six games while playing 19.2 minutes for the Pistons. But he is best known for being a lockdown defender and being a pest to opposing players.

“I feel like everybody kind of knows me as a three-and-d guy for sure,” Grimes said. “But I feel like here with the unselfishness. . .I’ll be able to show more of how I did in New York.

“Whenever somebody was down or injured, I was always able to step up and kind of show more of my offensive game. And then defensively, you’re taking the matchup every night when every time on the court you’re trying to stop whoever is out there. Be it the best player, the tallest guy, the shortest guy, it doesn’t matter. I’m going to take on that matchup every time I step on the court.”

Grimes collected eight points, four rebounds and four assists in 22 minutes during this past Monday’s pre-season game against the Memphis Grizzlies. And his stellar defense was a carry over from what he showed coach Jason Kidd last week when the Mavs held training camp in Las Vegas.

“I think his defense, it fits our DNA,” Kidd said. “So, a lot of positives here in training camp in Vegas and here the other night (against Memphis).

“But again, it’s still early. I just got to continue watching him and helping him with some little things, but for the most part he’s been great.”

Grimes knew joining the Mavs would be beneficial when the 6-5, 210-pounder was among several Mavs players who joined guard Klay Thompson in Los Angeles this past summer for a few scrimmages and bonding sessions.

“I think the biggest thing was just the camaraderie of having to be with each other for five days,” Grimes said. “It just felt like you’ve been with the team for two or three years just the way everybody was interacting with each other.

“We had a whole yacht day. Klay set up the whole yacht day. We were on a boat from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. It was crazy. Just knowing and talking with the guys, that’s pretty rare for a team to have something like that in a heartbeat. We were hooping every day.”

And Grimes was enjoying every minute of it. He felt right at home.

“Knowing the camaraderie that we have as a team, I think it’s pretty special and I think that translates to the court where even if you’re having a bad little stretch, you can still come together as a team because you kind of know more about that person versus him just being your teammate,” Grimes said. “So, I feel like that’s going to take us a long way, because in an 82-game season there’s going to be times you may win two (games) in a row or drop three (games) in a row.

“But you know y’ all have been through way more than that. So, I know it’s easy when you know you’re going to war with somebody that you really know.”

All of that camaraderie has made Grimes’ transition from the Pistons to the Mavs go rather smoothly.

“I feel like it’s been nothing but love since I got here — from everybody from top to bottom in the organization,” he said. “It’s like really a family around here since the day when I got here, so I’ve got nothing but smiles.”

BRIEFLY: Mavs guard Dante Exum underwent successful surgery on Tuesday to repair a right wrist injury. Exum suffered the injury last week during training camp in Las Vegas. The Mavs said in a press release that further medical updates on Exum’s status will be provided as appropriate . . . The Mavs will host the Utah Jazz on Thursday at 7 p.m. in a preseason game at American Airlines Center. Fans can listen to the game on 97.1 FM The Eagle or on Zona MX 99.1 FM (Spanish) . . . The Mavs are 0-1 in preseason play after losing at home to the Memphis Grizzlies (121-116) Monday. The Jazz are 2-0 after defeating New Zealand (116-87) last Friday and the Houston Rockets (122-113) on Monday.

X: @DwainPrice