It’s been nearly a month since the Philadelphia 76ers’ star trio of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George have played together. With its roster decimated by injuries, Philadelphia has grown infatuated with the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery and are therefore attempting to bottom out in its final 14 games of the regular season. You may suspect that 76ers games have been a tough watch as of lately, but there is one player who is giving fans something to root for.
Amidst Philadelphia’s struggles, Quentin Grimes has emerged as one of the best players in the NBA throughout March. Within the month, Grimes is averaging 28.6 points per game on 53.7% shooting from the field and 41.3% shooting from beyond the arc, 5.6 rebounds per game, 4.6 assists per game, and 2.1 steals per game. He also posted a career-high 46 points in the 76ers’ 144-137 loss to the Houston Rockets on Monday.
After years of searching, Philadelphia has found a top-end wing who can make an impact on both ends of the floor. However, there is one problem – Grimes is set to become a restricted free agent this upcoming offseason. With his ascension, he’ll surely be one of the most sought after free agents in a class that features the likes of LeBron James, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving.
Two threats to the 76ers' chances of re-signing Quentin Grimes
It’s essential to note that the 76ers can match any contract that a team hypothetically offers Grimes this summer since he’ll be placed in restricted free agency and they inherited his bird right as well. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to know who Philadelphia’s competition is when it comes to retaining him.
The Brooklyn Nets are poised to have the largest budget in the NBA this offseason with a projected $91.8 million in cap space according to Spotrac. While the 2025 NBA Draft could change this, Brooklyn is without a cornerstone to build around, so it could use its unrivaled financial flexibility to acquire seasoned, young players to help establish a culture – similar to what the Houston Rockets did in the 2023 offseason.
While Spotrac has the Utah Jazz projected to have only $13.9 million in cap space, they could free up as much as $39.2 million between four non-guaranteed salaries and John Collins’ $26.6 million player option if he were to decline it. Finances aside, Utah severely lacks a quality two-way wing and Grimes seamlessly fits the bill. With the Jazz likely trying to fill that hole and potentially generating notable cap space, they could be the biggest threat to the 76ers.
The 76ers are left with one choice
Aside from Brooklyn and Utah, the rest of the teams with formidable salary cap flexibility aren’t in need of Grimes’ talents and the teams who could use a player of his caliber are projected to be over the $154.6 million cap space threshold – meaning he’d likely be out of their reach barring the unpredictability of the NBA offseason.
It’s important to remember that this is a premature outlook on Grimes’ possible market in the 2025 free agency period. The upcoming NBA draft could either draw teams closer to Grimes or encourage them to keep their distance – depending on where they fall in the draft lottery, who ends up drafted where, and any potential trades that are to be done. Still, one thing is for sure – the 76ers must retain Grimes at all costs.