It’s not exactly like he never left, but Quentin Grimes is back with the Sixers.

Grimes practiced Wednesday for the first time since ending his restricted free agency with an 11th-hour acceptance of the Sixers’ one-year, $8.7 million qualifying offer.

As he waited on a resolution, the 25-year-old shooting guard didn’t just put his feet up.

“I knew it would take time, not being able to play up and down with the guys,” Grimes said, “but I was down at the (University of Houston) and if y’all know anything about Coach (Kelvin Sampson), I was in pretty good shape working out with those guys, competing down there in some live action and stuff like that. It was my first time really getting up and down in some 5-on-5, but I feel like Coach Sampson had me doing some great conditioning down there for sure.”

Sixers head coach Nick Nurse could tell that Grimes wanted to be ready to roll.

“He played hard and he looked like he’s been working out,” Nurse said. “I hadn’t seen him. He had a couple of shooting sessions here while we were gone (in Abu Dhabi). They did report that he was looking good, but there was a lot of live action out there today and it didn’t look like his first day. … He’s in good shape and he was very energetic, bouncy and athletic.”

Grimes didn’t go into great depth on his protracted contract negotiations, hitting expected, professional notes about the business of the NBA.

He made it clear he has zero lingering negativity. 

“Not at all,” he said. “I’m here to play basketball. I try to control what I can control, and that’s how hard I go in the gym — preparation-wise, working out my body. And I leave that up to my agent and the front office. 

“Hopefully, I’ll be able to be back here longer. I wanted to be back here on a longer-term deal, but I’m happy to be here right now and do everything I can to help this team win.” 

Grimes returned to the Sixers’ practice facility Saturday and worked with assistant coaches on learning the new aspects of the team’s offense. Nurse called his understanding Wednesday “very good,” though not flawless. 

While Nurse appreciates the skills that enabled Grimes to average 21.9 points over 28 games as a Sixer last season, he hopes the team is much healthier and that Grimes’ shot volume naturally drops. He envisions Grimes contributing in a variety of ways on both ends of the court. 

“I want him to do all of that stuff,” Nurse said. “Help us rebound. Really help us guard; you’re going to be guarding some tough matchups. Space the floor and shoot. And then I think the last part is, if we need a bucket, we’re going to need his offense.”

Although the Sixers’ opening-night starting lineup and rotation are nowhere near cemented, Grimes will surely play major minutes. Nurse was very pleased with the Tyrese Maxey-VJ Edgecombe backcourt over the Sixers’ first two preseason games and might add Grimes to it.

“I think that’s certainly on the table,” he said. “If you threw Jared (McCain) into that mix, now you’ve got three of the four (main guards), maybe. I think that’s certainly on the table at some point. We’ll see.”

Injury updates on Embiid, George and Watford 

A Sixers official gave the following post-practice injury updates: 

Joel Embiid (left knee) practiced and has been making progress, including in 5-on-5 scrimmaging.

Paul George (left knee) has been increasing the intensity of his individual workouts. He’s working toward being integrated into team workouts in the coming days. Both Embiid and George have multiple boxes left to check before game action and the Sixers haven’t set a specific timeline for either.

Trendon Watford (right hamstring) will remain out for the Sixers’ preseason game Friday night vs. the Magic. The 24-year-old forward recently had imaging done that showed no structural damage. He took jumpers after practice and is expected to do more on court over the next week.