The Philadelphia 76ers are running a bit thin in the scoring department with Joel Embiid still sidelined as he recuperates from an appendectomy procedure, which makes it all the more questionable that the coaching staff has been quite economical when it comes to handing down minutes to Quentin Grimes. Having said that, it is difficult right now to oppose what the coaches have decided on, especially since he has struggled as of late.
Philly has played three postseason outings so far (counting their one play-in tourney matchup against the Magic and their two games thus far against the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs). In all of those contests, Grimes has registered a grand sum of 17 points combined –– averaging a paltry 5.7 points a night during that span.
As such, Grimes' minutes have started to decline. He is tallying just 22.7 minutes per contest since the Orlando game –– a steep decline from his regular season average of nearly 30 minutes a night. If this is not any indictment on what his future with this team looks like, I do not know what is.
The 76ers are slowly phasing Quentin Grimes out in plain view
The 76ers have a pretty major decision to make when it comes to Quentin Grimes in the coming offseason. After a drawn out negotiation last year in free agency which culminated in Philly's brain trust winning the war of attrition, Grimes is set to hit the open market anew –– and one can certainly bank on his camp trying to get the biggest pay raise possible.
However, with the way he is playing –– lacking aggression and assertiveness and not really impacting the game as much as he often does –– the 76ers are legitimately starting to see and be content with life without him in the fold.
Inasmuch as Grimes has become a vital piece for this team, the truth of the matter is he has underperformed for the most part this season. Sure, he is entrenched as the nominal sixth man on the roster, but in all honesty, Nurse and company have only stuck with him in that role due to the sheer lack of other players who can tenably soak up heavy minutes off the bench.
The free agency market is not going to be bereft of options to replace him, either. Hence, the 76ers are undoubtedly already posturing with what they feel about Quentin Grimes. And right now, it's not looking good for the "keep him" crowd.
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