More than a week has passed since free agency began, yet the Philadelphia 76ers have not yet fulfilled their biggest priority this offseason. Quentin Grimes remains a free agent, and reports point to the front office and his camp still being separated by a significant distance with respect to a new deal.
Clearly, Grimes is holding out to pump out some semblance of leverage. This is to be expected, as the free agent guard has every reason to demand more money from the 76ers given his breakout stint with the team last season. However, the ugly reality for him is that Philly’s brass has no reason to yield to his reportedly lofty demands. No team out there has the money to throw him a handsome offer sheet that would force the 76ers to match.
However, that may no longer be the case if the stars suddenly align to the contrary. A certain team in the league has quietly operated to move a lot of parts, and in doing so, they have the capacity to make the 76ers sweat with just a few more moves to clear some cap space and tender an offer sheet to someone like Grimes.
The 76ers need to watch out as the Jazz have what it takes to steal Quentin Grimes
Following a rather surprising trade involving Norman Powell and John Collins, the Utah Jazz suddenly have the tools to eventually free up significant cap space, enough to threaten teams that are still negotiating terms with their own restricted free agents, such as the 76ers with Grimes.
As pointed out by Yossi Gozlan, an NBA salary cap analyst, the Jazz could have up to $22 million in cap space this offseason by simply waiving the non-guaranteed contracts of KJ Martin and Jaden Springer.
The Jazz decreased payroll enough where they could pivot to becoming a cap space team.
— Yossi Gozlan (@YossiGozlan) July 7, 2025
They can have $22 million in cap space if they waive KJ Martin and Jaden Springer's non-guaranteed salaries.
This would give them more spending as well as the $8.8 million room mid-level. https://t.co/swttobmssz
For now, no team could realistically tender such an amount to Grimes, with previously rumored suitors having already sapped their cap space. However, in theory, the Jazz could make the 76ers be forced into giving in to Grimes’ camp if they do throw an offer sheet.
The belief is that Philadelphia has been trying to convince Grimes to take an offer in the $16 to 18 million range, but Utah throwing their entire cap space in that scenario to Grimes would essentially guarantee him at least $22 million on his next deal.
The Jazz could very well skip on Grimes to double down on their youth movement, but he is only 25 years old and could even be an appealing option for them on a shorter deal as an eventual trade chip they can capitalize on later.
As such, the Philadelphia 76ers are threatened with a scenario where Quentin Grimes and his representation could hold the cards and get leverage, which does not exist at this point. Clearly, the Utah Jazz are worth monitoring on this front.