The Philadelphia 76ers will enter the 2025-26 season as one of the most enigmatic teams in the league. Fresh off a season that saw them turn in the fifth-worst win-loss card in the entire association, there are a lot of talking heads which are doubting that their championship window is still open, even with a cleaner bill of health.
So far, the front office has not really done anything major nor compelling enough to warrant a swift belief that they will turn the worm next season. The team seems to be banking on better health and their abundance of raw talent, and with the East being open for taking, that could even prove to be enough for them to make a deep playoff run.
Daryl Morey and his crew seems to be finished making moves, albeit with one glaring exception — the status of restricted free agent Quentin Grimes. The 25-year-old remains their lone focus this offseason, but there has been little traction between both camps on getting another deal done to keep him in Philly.
However, the chances of him sticking with the 76ers are sky-high. But having said that, will he be able to embrace a new reality for him next season?
Quentin Grimes has to adapt to a likely healthier 76ers team next season
Despite yet another setback, the 76ers are still on track to have everyone ready by training camp, which is still over a couple of months away. That includes Joel Embiid even though his progress has been really slow, and Paul George, whom the front office has not ruled out making an appearance during the preseason.
At this juncture, Grimes could kickstart the season playing off the bench, not necessarily out of stylistic purposes nor to balance out the talent and shot diet, but simply because there are way too many mouths to feed on the team.
Between Embiid, George, and Maxey, the 76ers have three high-usage and established All-Star scorers who will demand the ball whenever they can. There is also Jared McCain, last year’s leading Rookie of the Year candidate before his injury, who is cure to come back roaring and hungry to make waves in Year 2.
We have not even made mention of VJ Edgecombe, who has a strikingly similar play style to Grimes. However, it is not difficult to envision the coaching staff investing more opportunities for him on the court than Grimes, especially with Edgecombe being a highly touted rookie and a potential franchise cornerstone.
The theory of Grimes as a highly touted rookie-usage player looked really good, especially since he was able to channel all of that into actual practice last season. However, within the context of having to play third to fourth fiddle most of the time, what would his role look like? Will his production suffer or return to modest normalcy?
Those are probably the questions the Philadelphia 76ers front office has for Quentin Grimes as both camps deal with this free agency impasse. It will get resolved eventually, but those will continue to tail him next season.