After spending the offseason as a restricted free agent, Quentin Grimes eventually was all but forced to pick up his $8.7 million qualifying offer to return to the Philadelphia Sixers. David Bauman represented Grimes at the time, but as of Tuesday, he's officially a CAA client. Everyone should've seen this move coming.
Grimes' camp and the Sixers were far apart in negotiations on a deal before he accepted the qualifying offer. His camp initially proposed a deal worth $30 million annually, and when the Sixers turned that down, they lowered it to $20-$25 million annually. Philadelphia didn't want to do that, either. The two sides were never able to find common ground.
No other team (except Brooklyn) was in a position to compete against the Sixers, so they had the leverage.
Still, even though restricted free agency was painfully slow this past summer, the lack of any real negotiations between Grimes' side and Philadelphia was telling. With Grimes now set to enter unrestricted free agency next summer, he made a much-needed decision to switch representation.
Quentin Grimes joins CAA ahead of unrestricted free agency
Bauman's only client currently playing in the NBA was Grimes. CAA, on the other hand, represents several NBA stars, including Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Haliburton, and Donovan Mitchell. He's preparing to get (some kind of) bag next summer.
After a superb finish to the second half of last season following the trade from the Mavericks, Grimes is off to a hot start this season for the Sixers. He's averaging 17.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game, shooting 48% from the field and 40.6% from three in 11 contests off the bench.
Grimes said after his restricted free agency chaos ended that he wants to be in Philadelphia in the long term. Maybe that wish will come true this summer, but there will be other teams that have the cap space to make Grimes the kind of offer he thought he could get last offseason. He could very well end up spending less than two years in Philadelphia.
While it makes perfect sense for Grimes to be preparing for the future, that doesn't mean he isn't focused on doing everything he can to help the Sixers win now. How he's looked over the past few weeks has proven that much. It seems like he was meant to be in Philly all along. Now, if only things could stay that way.