Sixers' Quentin Grimes signing qualifying offer

Philadelphia 76ers restricted free agent Quentin Grimes has decided to sign his one-year, $8.74M qualifying offer, agent David Bauman tells ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Wednesday was the deadline for Grimes to decide on that qualifying offer. Accepting it ends a three-month standoff between the 25-year-old guard and the team and will put him on track to reach unrestricted free agency during the 2026 offseason. He’ll also have the ability to veto any trade during the 2025-26 season.

Grimes, 25, spent the first three-and-a-half seasons of his NBA career with the New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons and Dallas Mavericks before being dealt to Philadelphia in a trade for Caleb Martin at February’s deadline.

Primarily a three-and-D wing to that point, Grimes took on more ball-handling and play-making responsibilities for a banged-up 76ers team missing several of its top scorers and put up big numbers down the stretch. As a Sixer, he averaged 21.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals in 33.7 minutes per game across 28 outings (25 starts) while posting a shooting line of .469/.373/.752.

That strong finish for Grimes complicated his contract negotiations with Philadelphia this summer. Based in large part on what the former Houston Cougar showed in the second half of 2024-25, his camp initially sought an annual salary in the range of $30M before eventually lowering that asking price to $20-25M per year, according to Charania.

The Sixers, however, wary of their tax/apron situation — and, presumably, of overpaying Grimes based on two months of production for a lottery-bound team — never came close to meeting that asking price. According to ESPN and other outlets, Philadelphia was willing to offer a four-year, $39M deal or a one-year contract that would’ve paid a little more than his qualifying offer. Both offers would’ve required him to forfeit his implicit no-trade clause.

In his latest report, Charania says the 76ers’ one-year offer was worth just $100K more than the qualifying offer. Grimes’ camp, meanwhile, countered with a one-year, $17M proposal or a two-year, $34M deal with a second-year player option, Bauman told Charania. The club turned down both offers.

The 76ers will now retain Grimes’ Bird rights and believe they’ll be in a good position next summer to either re-sign him in unrestricted free agency or work out a sign-and-trade deal with another team, Charania writes.

If Grimes agrees to a trade during the season, his new club would only have his Non-Bird rights at the end of the season. Non-Bird rights allow for a raise of up to 20%, so in that scenario, Grimes’ team would need to use cap room or another exception to offer him a starting salary exceeding about $10.5M when he reaches free agency.

The Sixers now have a team salary of $194.8M, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks. That puts them well above the tax line of $187.9M, but below the first tax apron of $195.9M.

Grimes was one of four restricted free agents whose stalemates with their respective clubs lasted into mid- or late-September. Grimes and Nets guard Cam Thomas ultimately accepted their qualifying offers, while Bulls guard Josh Giddey and Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga worked out multiyear deals.