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Mar 23, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Quentin Grimes (5) in action against the Atlanta Hawks in the third quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The 76ers Should Avoid Repeating History

Originally posted on Philadelphia 76ers on SI
By Declan Harris | Last updated May 25, 2025 7:47 PM ET

At the trade deadline last season, the Philadelphia 76ers made a trade with the Dallas Mavericks, sending out key role player Caleb Martin in exchange for Quentin Grimes and a 2025 second-round pick. At the time, the trade appeared to give Nick Nurse yet another weapon to add to his arsenal of young stars, and Grimes would more than deliver on that.

Following his arrival in the City of Brotherly Love, the 25-year-old would go on to average 21.9 points per game, doing so on 46.9 percent shooting. His scoring output was more than double what he was putting up during his time with the Mavericks, with whom he averaged 10.2 points per night.

There was a clear reason for this increase in production, as he would receive a larger role on the Sixers, given the injuries to Paul George, Tyrese Maxey, and Jared McCain, all of whom would receive a split of the 33 minutes per night that Grimes was averaging.

Apart from just trying his best on his new team, there could've been another reason for Grimes' scoring outbursts, which included two outings of 40 or more points; his contract is set to expire at the end of the season. The 25-year-old came to Philadelphia in the last year of his rookie deal, thus he is set to become a restricted free agent, meaning that other teams around the league can offer him a contract with the 76ers retaining the option to match any of those offers.

While Grimes certainly brings mounds of offensive potential to the Sixers' arsenal, the front office should know his true value before potentially overpaying, which could be argued is what happened to former Philadelphia star Tobias Harris.

To be fair, when Harris made his move to the Wells Fargo Center in February 2019, he wasn't occupying the same role as Grimes did, so he didn't have a similar increase in offensive production. Harris rather saw his scoring numbers dip, while he became a part of Philadelphia's roster that would fall short in the playoffs against the eventual NBA champions, the Toronto Raptors.

When the off-season came around, Harris was retained while fan favorite Jimmy Butler was allowed to walk in free agency, something that the Philadelphia faithful never really let down over the course of the then-27-year-old's five-year deal, which was worth $180 million. During this five-year stretch, Harris averaged 17.6 points per game along with 6.5 rebounds, failing to live up to the 20.9 points he averaged with the Clippers during the season in which he was traded.

While Grimes doesn't have any co-stars to be picked over as Harris did, Philadelphia's front office should learn from their previous mistake in potentially overpaying, as Grimes could have a more limited role next season. It isn't known if the 25-year-old is going to replicate his numbers from last season once the aforementioned Maxey, George, and McCain are all healthy again, thus they should have a clear line in the sand for what they're willing to spend.

During his end-of-season presser, Nurse talked about how their structure could work if the 25-year-old is brought back, highlighting that he would serve as a backup guard alongside McCain. "If all three of them are back, then Grimes and McCain play some backup point guard as well," said Nurse.