TITLE: Quentin Grimes Accepts $8.7 Million Qualifying Offer to Remain with 76ers
SLUG: quentin-grimes-accepts-qualifying-offer-76ers
CONTENT:
Guard Quentin Grimes will stay in Philadelphia for at least one more season after agreeing to a one-year, $8.7 million qualifying offer, agent David Bauman told ESPN’s Shams Charania.
The decision keeps the 25-year-old under contract for 2025-26 while giving him veto power over any trade and a clear path to unrestricted free agency next summer, when league projections show that at least 10 teams will have significant cap space.
Grimes averaged career highs of 14.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steal last year. Following a mid-season move from Dallas, he posted 21.9 points and 4.5 assists across 28 games with Philadelphia, recording five 30-point efforts and two 40-point performances.
Negotiations Stalled Before Qualifying Offer
According to Bauman, substantive talks with the 76ers never gained momentum. The club’s first formal proposal did not arrive until Sept. 24 and was structured at four years and $39 million. Philadelphia later offered a one-year, $8.8 million deal—$100,000 above the qualifying figure—but it required Grimes to waive his no-trade protection. Grimes rejected both options.
The guard’s representatives countered with two alternatives: a one-year, $17 million contract without the no-trade clause and a two-year, $34 million deal featuring a player option. The 76ers declined both.
Roster Context
Philadelphia drafted VJ Edgecombe third overall to strengthen its backcourt, but injuries to Joel Embiid and Paul George last season have raised questions about the organization’s appetite for larger financial commitments this summer.
By accepting the qualifying offer, the 76ers retain Grimes’ Bird rights, preserving the ability to negotiate a new contract or facilitate a sign-and-trade in 2025.
Last Restricted Free Agent to Sign
Grimes was the final restricted free agent to conclude his offseason, following Josh Giddey’s four-year, $100 million agreement with Chicago, Cam Thomas’ qualifying offer in Brooklyn, and Jonathan Kuminga’s two-year, $48.5 million pact with Golden State. A sluggish restricted market persisted through late September, with Brooklyn standing as the only team holding notable cap space.
Originally the 25th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Grimes spent two seasons with the New York Knicks before subsequent trades sent him to Detroit, Dallas and, most recently, Philadelphia.
Grimes is expected to take on an expanded role to start the upcoming season while rookie guard Jared McCain recovers from thumb surgery, an absence projected at four to six weeks.
Source: Hoops Wire
