The Philadelphia 76ers front office remains at an impasse with restricted free agent Quentin Grimes, who is angling to seek any kind of leverage to compel the team into tendering him a generous offer. There is still no traction between both sides on a new deal, and at this rate, negotiations could very well spill into training camp.
Having said that, the 76ers’ confidence about retaining Grimes appears to be sky-high — and they are probably right in believing so. Nearly all of the teams with practical cap space entering free agency have already exhausted everything they had during the first wave of free agency, effectively handcuffing Grimes into yielding to whatever Philly’s brass will tender to him.
In fact, the team has doubled down on its certainty about keeping the 25-year-old with their most recent move. According to Tony Jones from The Athletic, the 76ers have closed the door on potential sign-and-trades involving Grimes, expressing their full confidence about retaining his services for next season at the very least.
“League sources are confident that the Sixers and Grimes will find a way to come to terms … even if the market has ground to a halt. At this point however, Grimes and his team are looking for a significant payout, and the Sixers are content to sit back and allow the market to play itself out.”
The 76ers are extremely confident about keeping Quentin Grimes — but it could backfire on them
Again, the 76ers have every reason to be extremely confident about their ability to keep Grimes. However, anything can happen in free agency, and they must remain cautious of teams that could be quietly gearing up to hand the 25-year-old a lucrative offer sheet.
Case in point? Look no further than the Utah Jazz, a team which had just freed up significant cap space — and could shed even more — after pulling off a recent trade which saw them flip John Collins. At most, they could have around $22 million in cap space this summer, allowing them to enter the bidding war for Grimes and other restricted free agents.
If, say, the Jazz hands him a poison offer sheet just to put the 76ers in a tough spot — which they could safely do given their youth movement and Grimes’ tradeability in the future — will Philly’s front office simply not match an offer sheet given their derision to a sign-and-trade scenario?
All we’re saying is that the Philadelphia 76ers should keep their options open. Sure, there is realistically no other team that can trump them for Quentin Grimes, but free agency has always been a platform for the most treacherous developments, and the front office cannot just stand idly, waiting for the apple to fall.