During the offseason, Quentin Grimes' name made a lot of buzz because he was heavily linked in the Donovan Mitchell trade talks with the Utah Jazz. And so when the New York Knicks decided to keep him instead as the Mitchell talks fell apart, there were high expectations he would have a breakout year this 2022-23.

So far, however, fans are still waiting for the Grimes breakout to happen.

The youngster's injury is largely to blame, as his left foot issue kept him out for the first six games of the season. Nonetheless, with him back in the lineup, some couldn't help but ask why Tom Thibodeau hasn't utilized him that much. In fact, he is still considered a “situational” player for the Knicks.

According to Thibodeau, however, they still see the youngster as a big part of what they are doing. As for his current situation, the Knicks are simply easing him back until he gets more comfortable to playing again.

“He’s missed a lot of time. So the conditioning part of that is part of that equation. As he gets opportunities, he’ll play more and more,” Thibodeau said of Grimes, per Ian Begley of SNY TV.

During Friday's game against the Detroit Pistons, Quentin Grimes featured for just eight minutes. He made five points on 1-of-3 shooting, making it quite clear that he still isn't at his best conditioning wise.

It remains to be seen when Grimes will get more playing time, though as everyone knows when it comes to Thibodeau, players will have to work hard to earn their minutes.