It wouldn’t be a Sixers media day or training camp without a proper holdout. The team is no stranger to them, with James Harden and Ben Simmons making headlines in recent years. This time, it looks like restricted free agent Quentin Grimes will carry the torch. ESPN’s Shams Charania detailed the latest on Grimes’ situation, alongside fellow restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga’s in Golden State.
Focusing on Grimes, Charania spoke with his agent, David Bauman, who shared several updates. The short version: the two sides remain far apart on a deal. Sept. 24 marked the first day the Sixers made a “formal, hard offer” to Grimes and his camp. As things stand, Grimes is not expected to attend Sixers media day on Friday or join the team for training camp in Abu Dhabi.
Charania also noted a few surrounding factors that could prove relevant: the arrival of high lottery pick VJ Edgecombe, along with lingering health uncertainty for Paul George and Joel Embiid.
As many know, Grimes has been a restricted free agent for several months with little movement since the start of free agency. Now, as September winds down, there’s still no clear resolution in sight — but that could change soon. The reason you’re hearing about this now is because Grimes has until Oct. 1 to decide on his qualifying offer. That deadline represents the only real leverage his camp holds. If he neither accepts the offer nor reaches a new agreement, the qualifying offer will expire, leaving him a restricted free agent who can only negotiate a new deal with the Sixers.
Taking the qualifying offer could provide Grimes a pathway to a different team and, eventually, a bigger payday. But it comes with significant obstacles. For one, he would gain a no-trade clause for this season, giving the Sixers little incentive to commit real minutes to a player who isn’t part of their long-term plans. That alone could hurt his value. On top of that, any team trading for him would not inherit his Bird rights, which, depending on the cap situation, could severely limit his future earnings.
There are also plenty of examples of restricted free agents “betting on themselves” and watching their payday slip away. Many Sixers fans will remember is Nerlens Noel. In 2017, Noel turned down a four-year, $70 million deal from the Dallas Mavericks. He opted to take his qualifying offer instead, played sparingly the following season, and never came close to recouping that kind of money. Within a few years, he had fallen out of the NBA entirely.
That situation also doesn’t factor in the current CBA, which penalizes teams for spending big — a major reason why the Sixers seem unwilling to hand out a large deal. The same applies around the league: front offices are hesitant to commit significant money unless it’s to a marquee name. And while Quentin Grimes has shown he’s a legitimate contributor, he doesn’t quite fit that category.
It’s worth noting that this report originates from an agent, so the details should be taken with a grain of salt. Still, it’s concerning that months have passed with little to no progress on a new deal. The clock is ticking, and in just a week the little leverage Grimes has left will disappear. One way or another, developments are coming soon.
