This Keeps Getting CRAZIER… | SERIOUS Implications Looming for the Sixers
Quinn Grimes remains unsigned and a restricted free agent with the NBA season inching closer with little to no updates on his status. I do want to dive into why I believe the Sixers still hold the leverage. On top of that, the biggest story in the NBA continues to have its twists and turns with Steve Balmer’s involvement on the under the table payments to Kawhi Leonard looking more and more legitimate. I do want to break down why this is a direct impact on the future of the Philadelphia 76ers and talk a bit more about the grime situation. So, let’s start right there on what we know with Quinton Grimes, which at this point is not much new. Now, we know the state of the game, which how things have gone down. This was a guy the Sixers traded for mid-season, and had a career year. That this year, Grimes averaging 26.8 minutes per game, 14.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.0 assist, shot, 38.5% from beyond the three-point arc on the highest volume of his career. But that has not resulted in a major payday. Now, we’re seeing sort of the I guess conclusions of several other situations around leak. the Josh Giddy and the Chicago Bulls coming to terms and reaching a multi-year long-term agreement. Jonathan Kaminga not quite as simple and there is some clear tension between Kaminga and the Warriors organization that I think complicates that situation in a way that does not apply to Grimes. sort of similar to Cam Thomas who seemed offended by the discussions between the Brooklyn Nets and himself over a future uh contract and ultimately decided to take that qualifying offer himself, bet on himself and enter next offseason, enter unrestricted free agency next offseason. My sense on how things are going with the Quinton Grimes situation is this is guy trying not to make a rash decision in a way that will punish the future of his career. I do believe that in Quinton Grimes heart of hearts right now that he would much rather bet on himself for one season, take the 8.6 $6 million qualifying offer and be an unrestricted free agent next year. That just would be a very bad idea for the future of his direction. Cuz walk with me here. Let’s think about this from Grimes decision. And we still have no news outside of the the reports such as this coming back from July from Jake Fischer as he says, quote, “There’s been some buzz about Quint Grimes taking the $ 8.5 million qualifying offer from the Sixers as the team aims to preserve flexibility with his deal, though they’re open to entering the second apron during the season.” quote, “I think at the end of the day, as things get closer, as we get into the September and maybe even to October, that there will be enough synergy between Grimes and the Sixers because he’s never made significant money through his tenure as an NBA player. They’re willing to go past that second apron at certain points of the season, but they want to maintain flexibility for right now. The Sixers still hold every bit of leverage in this discussion point because he cannot sign with another team without their approval. And there is not a team to offer the type of money that would move him in these conversations. And if you’re the Sixers, why would you raise your offer at this point? The worst case scenario would be this guy taking his qualifying offer and then becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer. I do think that would be the end of the Quinton Grimes situation here in Philadelphia. That there’s pretty much no world in which they resign him in that context. But I also don’t think that’s resulting in a pay raise for Quinton Grimes because think about it from his perspective. Look at this Sixers roster. It has Tyrese Maxi on it. It has Jared McCain on it. And it now has third overall pick VJ Ocom. Those are three players that are roughly with his position. And of course, some of these guys can share the floor together. But those are three guys at his position who the Sixers have significantly more invested in. There’s a real chance that these those three guys are just better basketball players than Quinton Grimes. That is on the table. That is a possibility. This is not to diminish what Quinton Grimes did last year. He was excellent during his half a season with the Sixers and even less than that by the number of games, but it also was one hot stretch that there is a reason why he has not stuck anywhere to his NBA career. That yes, I think it’s unfair to fully throw him in that category, but the facts are still the facts that this man has been on four teams in four years. And there tends to be something more to the story when that is the case here. I’ve heard bad things about his time in New York or being a little bit of a locker room problem there. Who knows how true that is and how true it’s not. I’ve only heard that with the Knicks relationship side of things. I like Quinton Grimes. I want him back on this Sixers team, but I do think that he’s driving a higher bargain than his quality of talent deserves. The best case scenario for Quinton Grimes is like a fifth starter on a winning basketball team. There is not untapped potential. We know what this guy is. He showed what he was during the second half of the season and impressed. That was the first time in the entirety of his career in which he had free reign to take as many shots as he wanted and he made the most of it there. Did that equate to winning basketball? Absolutely not. And is there some truth to the chirps from George Niang saying, “If Joel was here, you would be in the corner. Joel here, you’re in the corner. Tyresese here, you’re in the corner.” There absolutely is some truth to that. We’ll see how it resolves itself. I think the ultimate conclusion, the best thing for both sides, as has been the case since the very beginning, is a multi-year agreement, which keeps them here with a little bit more player control. Could it be a three-year deal with a player option, a two-year deal with a player option? Something like that. Feels like it makes sense for both sides. But I just think it would be a very gam very very bad gamble for Quinton Grimes if he’s to say my market will be more than $8.5 million per season moving forward beyond this year. Look down the track record of guys who have taken this. It is far more common place for them to be on the pathway of minimum contracts for the remainder of their career than getting a massive payday. Look at Netherlands. No out there’s plenty of options of guys who have not, you know, ultimately come out on top when making this type of gamble. I don’t think it would be the best advice for Quinton Grimes and I do think that cooler heads will prevail. Now, the bigger story of what’s going on in the NBA is also something that directly involves the Sixers team. That is, of course, the future of Kawhi Leonard as he’s investigated by the NBA for the cap circumnavigation here. That of course having to do with the Clippers directly. Now, why this is related to the Sixers is the future draft pick capital, if you would take a look with me here, that of course the Sixers have their own 27 and uh 27 first and second round picks. They do have an additional second round pick in 2027. Then in 2028, a firstround pick coming from the Los Angeles Clippers with no protections on that. On top of that, in 2029, 2029, the rights to swap with the Los Angeles Clippers. Well, if the Clippers end up being punished pretty extremely in a way that does harm them from an onc court perspective, those draft picks get a whole lot more desirable and more valuable there. And it does seem like things are trending that way. Now, I will say this. I will start by saying that the Clippers conversation I’ve been stuck for this very reason that shout out to Trill the you know ball podcast that tweets out most of the possible Clippers punishments are funny when you think about it. Stripping them of draft picks they’ve been the worst drafting team in the NBA for the last 5 years. Suspending Kawawaii he already misses a ton of games or fighting them. Money isn’t real to Steve Balmer here. And that’s sort of where I’ve gotten on the conversation of this is obviously wrong. what clearly happened to me. And the more that Pablo drops evidence, the more that the NBA should be hating that this is a problem that they have to address because I do think they would want nothing more than this to go away because this is a difficult problem to police here. And I will also note that I have a bit of sympathy for Steve Balmer that in some regard, I’m not saying I want my owner to cheat, but I do respect how he is stepping forward and valuing whatever I can do to improve my basketball team. Now, there are limits that you have to abide by. And he went out of bounds. And this is not the first time that he was fined in the DeAndre Jordan saga that when he was trying to sign with the Dallas Mavericks and all these conversations, this is a repeat offender as is Kawhi Leonard, by the way, who’s the guy that was making these requests and got them. So, I sort of land on that both sides need to be punished, both Kawhi and the Clippers here. Now, what is on the table from a punishment perspective? We do have this coming from The Athletic as it states, “How what would a punishment for cap circumvention look like for Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers?” According to article 13 of the CBA, here’s what’s on the table. A fine for the Clippers up to $7.5 million. A fine of Kawhi Leonard up to $350,000. Four for Clippers draft picks. Suspend Balmer or other Clippers personnel up to a year and find them up to $1 million each. Void Leonard’s contract and prohibit him from resigning with the Clippers. required Leonard to return the money he received from aspiration. The most alarming punishment to John Hollinger is the possibility of voiding Leonard’s contract. It’s the most direct penalty available given the violation, but it’s also the most problematic for the rest of the league. And the reason that he makes that case right there is then all of a sudden Kawhi Leonard is a free agent and at this stage of the game where you know the money has dried up like it is going to be the rich getting richer type of situation. The most likely landing spot that I’ve seen theorized there would be the Oklahoma City Thunder which of course would suck. Now, that is where I get into my side of things. Why Kawhi Leonard needs to be punished as well. That it is unfair to just let him get, you know, get off scot-free and hop on another team. His uncle is the guy making these requests that he individually has to be held accountable for asking for ownership stakes and team private jets, you know, all these ridiculous requests that have been made and shame on the Clippers for abiding for him. And by the way, have not had the team success that remotely would indicate that this is worth it here. This is a team that has had Sixers level playoff shortcomings. That yes, the Clippers are a better organization than they were a decade ago or two decades ago. That they’ve moved in the right direction, but they have not gotten over the championship hump. They have not gotten over to the second round hump. That there’s limitations that have come with this. I don’t know how it’s going to be resolved. I do know it’s not going to be in the short term that I do believe that the the NBA is going to drag this out as long as possible. And the other like difficult conversation is uh the power balance between owners and a commissioner is not exactly how it often gets portrayed. This is not just the commissioner calling all the shots and the owners just follow whatever he says in some regard. The commissioner works for the owners and and really that’s how the like hierarchy of the league is ultimately drawn out there. I do think the rest of the owners like Steve Balmer and I think like they wish this wasn’t a thing. I think everybody wishes this wasn’t a thing, but it got out and it’s wrong and it cannot just skate by scott-free. So for the Sixers directly here, you’re sitting on the sideline allowing the due process to work itself out and hoping for the fullest extent of punishment. The NBA has to do something here and we should be rooting from a Sixers perspective that it’s something that harms the Clippers outlook for the next couple seasons here. I think it’s a pretty likely scenario that that’s how it plays itself out and I’m not sure how much more evidence that they need. I feel like people are waiting for like the signed piece of paper from Steve Balmer that says I am circumnavigating the salary cap. That’s not going to happen. You have all this context, all this evidence, all these direct numbers and payments that do not match up what should be the case there. I don’t know what more you need to prove that wrongdoing has occurred. But shout out to Pablo Tori for really breaking open this envelope and making some pretty ridiculous discoveries here. Some of the best journalism that we’ve seen in the entire world in recent months and years there. So, shout out to Pablo Tori and shout out to you guys for tuning in this video here. But let me know what you guys think in the comments. I would love to hear your guys’ opinion on the Clippers punishment because I’m still having a hard time putting my finger on what my punishment would be. I think it would be me personally, this is probably not even legal by NBA standards in the CBA. But if you’re asking me right now, my honest opinion, it would be to suspend Kawhi Leonard for a season and it would be to fine and strip the Clippers of a ton. I do think that this has to be an example level of punishment that that organization does deserve. this cannot be the norm because if it becomes the norm, a guy like Steve Balmer who’s got deeper pockets than every other owner in the league, all of a sudden the Clippers turn into the Manchester City of the NBA that they’re paying for everybody, every notable player. Like, think about the professional soccer world where the big dog teams are able to just scoop up the the smaller market players. Baseball sort of similar in that regard. The NBA doesn’t want to be that, nor should they. So, it is time to make sure that no more toothpaste gets out of the tube and lay a punishment on the table to prevent that thought process from continuing there. But, let me know what your guys’ ideal punishment would be. If you have not already, make sure you guys are subscribed to the channel, dropping a like on this video here. I’ll be back talking to you next time right here on Sixers Digest. Peace.
This Keeps Getting CRAZIER… | SERIOUS Implications Looming for the Sixers
Quentin Grimes remains unsigned with little updates on the outlook. Sean Barnard highlights the latest as well as why we must keep paying attention to what the fallout of the Kawhi Leonard situation is in Los Angeles and the impact that will be had on the Sixers.
#nba #sixers #philadelphia76ers
Sixers Digest is a YouTube Channel that covers all the latest news, trades, reports, and rumors regarding the Philadelphia 76ers. We provide comprehensive coverage on topics such as game highlights, player performances, and in-depth analysis of team strategies. Our channel features discussions on key players like Joel Embiid, Paul George, Tyrese Maxey, Jared McCain, and Kyle Lowry, as well as insights from Head Coach Nick Nurse and President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey. Stay tuned for all the exciting updates and engaging content on everything Sixers!
Have you ever wanted to break into sports media as a write or content creator? Apply to join the Digest Media team today here: https://digestmedia.ca/join-us/
NBA Trade Rumors, NBA Free Agency, NBA Draft, NBA Finals Preview, Fantasy Basketball Advice, NBA Betting Odds, NBA Jersey Review, Player Performance Breakdown, DraftKings NBA Picks, FanDuel NBA Strategy, Sports Analytics, NBA Highlights, NBA News Update, NBA Stats, NBA Roster Moves, NBA Predictions