The Philadelphia 76ers have taken care of most of their business in this offseason as they brought in some versatility (Trendon Watford), brought back two veteran guards (Eric Gordon, Kyle Lowry), and brought in some help on the frontline (Jabari Walker).
The only business to take care of now is to bring back Quentin Grimes.
A week into free agency, Grimes remains unsigned as he looks to get the value he is looking to get in this period. The issue is he’s a restricted free agent and a lot of the money has dried up in the market. The top contenders to steal him from the Sixers–the Detroit Pistons and Brooklyn Nets–have made their moves. One could make a case the Utah Jazz could make a run at him when considering the money they have at the moment, but they don’t seem like a real contender.
Therefore, the Sixers appear to be in the driver’s seat. Per Tony Jones of The Athletic:
The proverbial elephant in the room is the restricted free agency of shooting guard Quentin Grimes, which at this point has yielded almost no movement. To be clear, the Sixers as of Monday night, are almost certain they are going to retain him, and splashed cold water on potential sign-and-trade scenarios, league sources told The Athletic. The issue for Grimes is that the restricted free agency market is virtually non-existent. There is almost no cap space on the market, and that puts the Sixers in a position where they are bidding against themselves.
Grimes averaged 21.9 points in the 28 games he played for the Sixers after being acquired from the Dallas Mavericks at the deadline. As Philadelphia moves forward, it appears that a deal will be struck at some point, but Grimes continues to play the waiting game in an effort to get a better deal.