When the Philadelphia 76ers made the bold decision to trade Jared McCain, the front office completely envisioned it as a way to free up more cap space to pursue another shake-up and to extract some draft capital from a willing buyer. However, they probably did not expect that the move also basically ties them up with Quentin Grimes moving forward.
Now, as currently constructed, the 76ers only have one backup guard on the roster in Grimes. The 25-year-old, who is an impending free agent, has frankly been a tad disappointing this season, turning in inefficient night after inefficient night. His shot has been betraying him since December, yet the coaching staff does not really have much choice but to keep him on the floor for long durations.
As a result, it is also not unreasonable to believe that the front office will still look into keeping him on the roster beyond this season. After all, Grimes' market is now expected to be much more modest than initially believed due to his subpar campaign. Philly's brain trust should now have the leverage in prospective contract talks.
The 76ers are now handcuffed into signing Quentin Grimes after trading Jared McCain
The 76ers will probably have the right of first refusal with Grimes, not because he is most likely going to end up with the team, but because they have his Bird rights. Philly can go beyond the salary cap to retain his services, and given that they will not really enjoy having a lot of options to replace him, this partnership is going to subsist in all likelihood.
Grimes' next deal will likely still be in the $12 to $16 million range. While that is simply role player money nowadays, Grimes has not exactly been playing like someone who is a non-negotiable to keep on deck. He has been in a shooting slump for more than a couple of months already, and his struggles adjusting to a less featured role have been vivid.
As everyone knows about Nick Nurse, the guy is all about tenureship when it comes to deciding who plays and who sits out. As such, Grimes will keep registering ample playing time for the team –– not completely out of volition, but due to sheer necessity.
As long as the 76ers keep loitering around without any tangible moves to shore up their backcourt depth, this will remain to be the case. And so far, this scenario with Quentin Grimes has been lackadaisical in the truest sense of the word.