Quentin Grimes wants the challenge of leading the Lakers on defense

Los Angeles Lakers fans seem to be confident about how much Quentin Grimes will help the team on offense. The 26-year-old 6-foot-4 guard has ample bounce and burst to his game, not to mention solid athleticism, and he averaged 13.4 points and 3.3 assists a game this past season while with the Philadelphia 76ers.

But while he is a solid defender, Lakers fans don't seem to be sure if he's a good enough defender to be a starter on a championship team. Yet Grimes seems eager to take on such a challenge, based on what he said during a recent appearance on the "Mason & Ireland Show" on ESPN LA radio.

“That was really one of the bigger selling points. Talking with JJ [Redick] and then having them be able to pitch me what my role [will] look like, having a pretty a pretty big offensive role within the team. But also having a big leadership role on defense as well as taking on that challenge every night of guarding the best players and wanting that responsibility. I want to have that challenge every night. So, that was really the two main things when I was choosing [a team] in free agency.”

Los Angeles came into this offseason, in the minds of many people, needing two legitimate two-way wings. It needed one who could guard guards, especially while playing the role of a point-of-attack defender, and one who could guard forwards.

According to Dan Woike of The Athletic, coach Redick plans to use Grimes in that role as a point-of-attack defender. If he proves capable of holding down that role at a high level, it would go a long way in helping the team reach contender status.

L.A. still lacks that taller two-way wing, even after signing Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle, both of whom are capable defenders but probably aren't capable of handling a starting role. Therefore, it continues to pursue Jonathan Kuminga, flaws and all, although its pursuit of Kuminga has apparently stalled.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Quentin Grimes wants the challenge of leading the Lakers on defense