The Philadelphia 76ers are widely expected to bring back Quentin Grimes in free agency as the market has dried up for the restricted free agent. It appears the Sixers, who have shown an interest in bringing him back after acquiring him at the deadline, are negotiating against themselves at this point.

It makes sense for the Sixers to bring him back. He performed well in the 28 games he played for Philadelphia after the deadline as he averaged 21.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.5 assists. He was able to show off his skill and scoring chops in a space that gave him the freedom he was looking for on the offensive end.

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With that being said, while the Sixers are likely to bring him back, now is the time for an exercise. Here is the case for and against Philadelphia bringing back Grimes in free agency:

The case for bringing back Grimes

Grimes is a very versatile offensive player as he is somebody who can score in a variety of ways from isolation to catch-and-shoot opportunities. The catch-and-shoot aspect of his game will be something to capitalize on when considering the expectation is that Joel Embiid and Paul George will be healthy for a majority of the 2025-26 season–at least that’s the hope. Grimes will certainly take on a lesser role when considering the firepower Philadelphia is expected to have, but he can still thrive in a fourth-scorer role. It would be worth bringing him back in that respect.

He shot 37.3% from deep with the Sixers and that was as the first option and teams game planning for him on a nightly basis. As he heads into the 2025-26 season, Grimes will be asked to do less and one has to imagine he will be upwards of around 42-plus % from deep with the Sixers. He averaged 26.6 points and shot 40.3% from deep in 14 games in March as he really broke out on the offensive end. His fit with a healthy Sixers team should be explored when considering his skill on that end of the floor.

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The against bringing back Grimes

With that being said, March numbers can be skewed a bit. While the raw numbers are impressive, March basketball can sometimes be written off due to the fact that there are a lot of teams preparing for the playoffs while also trying to improve their lottery odds. One example was a March contest against the Oklahoma City Thunder on the road when Grimes scored 28 points, but the Thunder were resting their top six guys. Not much one can take from that matchup.

Therefore, the Sixers have to think long and hard about the contract they want to bring Grimes back on. If he is Philadelphia’s No. 1 scoring option at any point in the upcoming season, the season is probably not going the way the Sixers expected it to go. The focus has to be on Embiid, George, and Tyrese Maxey. If Grimes returns, he will be doing much less while being paid much more than the $4.3 million he was paid in 2024-25 (per basketball-reference).

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: The case for, against Sixers bringing back free agent Quentin Grimes