Quentin Grimes has probably already played his way off the Philadelphia 76ers next season, and that's solely the team's fault. Grimes has been magnificent off the bench so far this season, immediately adding himself to the early-season Sixth Man of the Year race.
This summer, the Sixers front office was steadfast in its commitment to not give Grimes a long-term deal, instead opting to sign the restricted free agent guard to a one-year qualifying offer that will cause him to be an unrestricted free agent next year. With Grimes' stellar start (he's averaging 17.3 points and shooting over 40% from 3-point range) he has likely priced himself out of Philly's range when he hits the open market next summer.
At the time, the Sixers lowballing Grimes made no sense. Now, as Grimes continues to excel on the court, that unwillingness to get a long-term deal done just looks silly.
Quentin Grimes should be on a long-term deal with the 76ers
I love watching rookie VJ Edgecombe play. I think Jared McCain will be a very good player when he gets his legs under him post-injury. But the Sixers refused to give Grimes multiple years at a fair price because they foresaw a logjam in the backcourt with Grimes, Edgecombe, McCain, and Tyrese Maxey.
That is foolish. Even with Edgecombe's fantastic start and Jared McCain's promising play before his injury last season, both of those guys remain question marks long-term. Plus, is having depth at both guard positions such a horrible idea? Because say Edgecombe and McCain both do become the players Philly hopes them to be... Great! Then Grimes, who has long proven himself to be a capable NBA player at minimum, becomes a highly tradable contract.
Instead, the Sixers are left with one year of Grimes before he signs a multi-year deal with another team that's willing to pay him what he's clearly earned in the league.
In the modern NBA with a strange CBA, teams have to be particular about how they spend their money; I understand that. But the Grimes situation was so much more clear-cut than that. Last trade deadline, the Sixers acquired Quentin Grimes. He was awesome for them pretty much every game. Then, this summer, Grimes asked the Sixers for a multi-year contract that paid him the $25-30 million per year range. The Sixers said no.
Why the Sixers said no, I'm still trying to figure out. And I'll be trying all season, and all of next offseason, when a smart front office does pay him that much money without a second thought.