Quentin Grimes’ contract uncertainty with Sixers lingers, even as restricted free agency finally begins to move
Grimes remains unsigned — to his qualifying offer for 2025-26 or to a longer-term deal — with less than three weeks before the Sixers’ media day.
Quentin Grimes posted a photo on his Instagram story Monday afternoon of himself dribbling a basketball … and wearing a 76ers jersey.
It sparked eyebrow raises from some outsiders, who wondered if it signaled that there finally was a resolution regarding the 25-year-old guard’s contract status. The answer was no, at least not immediately. Grimes remains unsigned — to his qualifying offer for 2025-26 or to a longer-term deal — with less than three weeks before the Sixers’ media day ahead of their preseason trip to Abu Dhabi.
Grimes’ uncertainty has been one part of a fascinating, leaguewide stagnation of restricted free agency. It lingered for about two months before some recent movement.
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Last week, the Brooklyn Nets’ Cam Thomas made the rare decision to accept his $6 million qualifying offer, which will make him an unrestricted free agent next summer. On Tuesday, Josh Giddey agreed to a new four-year, $100 million deal with the Chicago Bulls. Like Grimes, Jonathan Kuminga’s situation with the Golden State Warriors remains in limbo.
None of those players, though, received a contract offer sheet from another team, which their current team then would have had the option to match. It is a byproduct of the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement and “apron” penalties for going over the luxury tax, which limits how much teams were willing to spend. The Nets essentially were the only team operating with cap space after the initial free-agency flurry as the evening of June 30 transitioned to early July. Several teams, however, could have space next summer.
“Restricted free agency has always been tough on players,” said Keith Smith, who reports extensively on the salary cap and the CBA for Spotrac.com, the NBA Front Office Show podcast, and The Basketball Bulletin. “That’s by design. But this year has been even rougher than usual. …
“Because so many moves can now hard-cap a team at the first or second apron, teams are reluctant to lock into new contracts or to use various other mechanisms for acquiring players because of the potential issues with the aprons.”
Unsurprisingly, Grimes desires a significant pay raise following his breakout stretch after the Sixers acquired him in a February deadline trade. He became a potent scorer with lead ballhandling capabilities and averaged 21.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in 28 games. Grimes also has a reputation as a stout perimeter defender, averaging 1.5 steals per game during his Sixers tenure.
Daryl Morey, the Sixers’ president of basketball operations, last spoke publicly about Grimes’ contract situation in mid-July during summer league in Las Vegas, saying, “We want to retain Quentin. We hope to work that out with his representation, and our focus [is] on making sure that happens.” Belief still exists inside the organization that Grimes also wants to return to the Sixers.
He bolsters a Sixers backcourt loaded with young talent in 2023-24 All-Star Tyrese Maxey, sharpshooter Jared McCain, and third overall draft pick VJ Edgecombe. How to best deploy those players, who complement the uncertain health outlooks of Joel Embiid and Paul George, will be a significant task facing coach Nick Nurse this season.
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How long could this Grimes saga continue? His qualifying offer expires Oct. 1, but it can be extended. Smith told The Inquirer in July that the likelihood of Grimes signing that qualifying offer would go “way up” in mid-August. Smith maintained that belief in a Tuesday post on Bluesky, after the Giddey news broke.
“Most guys want a deal done in advance of getting back into the local market in September for informal workouts, scrimmages, etc.,” Smith said in July. “As for Grimes, I think every day that goes by, there’s a better chance of signing the qualifying offer and betting on having a better deal waiting until unrestricted free agency next offseason.”
For now, the clock continues to tick. Because it turns out that Grimes’ Monday photo in a Sixers jersey was not an immediate clue that his situation had been resolved.