The Philadelphia 76ers entered the 2026 NBA Draft having only one selection in the first round and none in the second round, and boy did they make it count. With the 22nd overall pick, the team managed to snag Alabama's Labaron Philon Jr., who was projected to be a lottery pick. This is, without a doubt, a home run for the franchise given the upside they just got with their newest prospect.
What's next for the 76ers will now take center stage. And after drafting Philon, it is now pretty obvious that it would not be prudent to press as hard on keeping Quentin Grimes in free agency. The 26-year-old is in the open market, and his in-house value just got drastically shafted with the arrival of his younger counterpart.
Prior to taking Philon, it felt like an inevitability that the 76ers will choose to retain Grimes' services for next season and beyond. Bench scoring was already abysmal on their part, and losing their nominal sixth man simply felt counterintuitive. But now that the rookie is on board, the front office should probably take on a less active stance on the Grimes front.
The 76ers should no longer aggressively try to re-sign Quentin Grimes aftre drafting Labaron Philon Jr.
The 76ers have some spending power this offseason, but not to such extent where they can afford to have an embarrassment of riches in any position. As such, it feels much more prudent for the front office to set a firm cap on Grimes' price tag and seek cheaper options if his camp flat-out refuses the same.
The Alabama product, after all, could be end up being more productive than Grimes even in his rookie season. The latter did not exactly have a standout campaign in 2025-26, averaging just 13.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game despite playing nearly 30 minutes a night. He also shot just 33.4 percent from three-point range, which is definitely not worth commending.
In an ideal world, the 76ers get to keep Grimes for cheap while having Philon as their fourth guard. However, with his price tag expected to be considerably costly, it might be good for them to push Philon a notch above in the pecking order and go for more sizeable options at the wing positions to replace Grimes and shed off some of the skill set overlaps in the backcourt.
The new-look front office is off to a good start after drafting Labaron Philon Jr. Now, they ball remains in their court to make the most sensible move when it comes to Quentin Grimes.
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