If you had to pinpoint two organizations that severely underperformed expectations this season, the Philadelphia 76ers and Dallas Mavericks would immediately come to mind. Between injury concerns for the Sixers and disastrous trades made by the Mavs, these two teams have seen their respective seasons freefall. At the same time, they could be connected for years to come because of the trade deadline deal involving Quentin Grimes.
All the negative attention cast on Dallas has been from Nico Harrison deciding to trade Luka Doncic, a once-in-a-generation talent, to the Los Angeles Lakers. But the Mavericks also made another deal, one that flew under the radar until Grimes arrived in Philadelphia.
With the Mavs, Grimes had shown flashes of his scoring prowess. Early in the season, he had three straight games with at least 21 points due to Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and Klay Thompson dealing with injuries. As the year went on, Grimes’ role in Jason Kidd’s nightly rotations was always changing and he was never able to establish himself as a go-to player off the bench in Dallas.
Sometimes, all it takes is a player to be given the opportunity to prove themselves as a top option to prove their worth. That is what has occurred with the 76ers and Grimes amid a lost season.
Quentin Grimes has bounced around in his NBA career
Since being the 25th overall pick in 2021, Grimes has struggled to find his forever home. Two seasons with the New York Knicks resulted in a midseason trade to the Detroit Pistons in 2024, leading to the Mavs acquiring him in the offseason. This constant change can be tough for young players, but Grimes has embraced these changes every step of the way because of the type of player he has been molded into.
“I play nothing but hard-nosed, tough defensive-minded coaches. I feel like playing for Coach (Kelvin) Sampson, playing for Thibs (Tom Thibodeau), people who really emphasisize defense as the forefront, that’s just my model,” Grimes told reporters at media day before the 2024-25 season began. “Whatever my team needs of me, guarding whoever — Trae Young or Jayson Tatum — it doesn’t really matter.
“I’m going to take on that challenge every time I step on the court.”
There is always something about undervalued players that almost puts a chip on their shoulders. In college, Grimes was overlooked as a freshman at Kansas, and he transferred to Houston where he became a focal point for Kelvin Sampson. He took the Houston Cougars to the Final Four in his junior and final collegiate season before declaring for the NBA Draft.
Once he entered the league with the Knicks, the same cycle Grimes had encountered throughout his career repeated itself. He was again fighting for minutes and seeking an opportunity to prove his value, something that never truly came in New York. There were moments of excellence for him in Detroit and Dallas, but Grimes was still overlooked by his team.
That is no longer the case for the 24-year-old in Philadelphia, as he has become the team’s top option and priority late in the season with Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey out.
A new star emerging in Philadelphia?
Daryl Morey always tends to make moves at the NBA trade deadline. This season was no different for Morey and his Sixers roster, as he shuffled some pieces around to try and maximize their potential moving forward. With Embiid, George, and Maxey all dealing with separate injuries, Philadelphia ended up being less aggressive than many of their fans would have hoped.
Even so, the 76ers were able to recuperate lost future second-round picks and bring in Grimes, who is in the final year of his contract and staring down restricted free agency. The Sixers traded Caleb Martin to the Mavs for Grimes and a second-round pick.
At first, Grimes was brought to Philadelphia by Morey with the hope that he could be a young, energetic contributor off the bench who could provide some extra depth behind the team’s All-Stars. That plan quickly changed when Embiid was ruled out for the season at the end of February, which was subsequently followed by George receiving season-ending injections for adductor and knee injuries on Monday.
When the 76ers acquired Grimes, they were 20-30 overall. This team is now 23-45, and the only thing they are contending for at this juncture is the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Losing and tanking the rest of the way should be the Sixers’ main goal right now, especially since they own the fifth-worst record in the league and their first-round pick goes to the Oklahoma City Thunder if it falls outside of the top six.
Despite losing 14 of the 17 games he has played in, Grimes has positively impacted the 76ers in ways nobody would have imagined.
After beginning his time in Philadelphia with at least 10 points in six straight games, Grimes burst onto the scene with a 44-point performance against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors. Grimes leading the team to a 126-119 victory was one of the highlights of a season filled with lows for the Sixers, and this set the stage for the star-level player he has played the part of over the last few weeks.
Over his last five games, Grimes has averaged 32.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.8 assists while shooting 52.3 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent from three-point range. Since the start of March, he’s averaging 28.6 points per game for the 76ers.
Grimes topped his career-high 44-point night against the Warriors at the start of the month with a new career-high 46 points on 8-of-14 shooting from 3-point range on Monday night against the Houston Rockets, a game Philadelphia lost 144-137 in overtime after scoring a season-high 78 first-half points.
As the 76ers’ top offensive player with Embiid, George, Maxey, and others sidelined, Grimes will no longer be overlooked by players and teams across the NBA. This has been the breakout Grimes has been seeking through the years, yet he has remained humble and isn’t making the spotlight about himself amid the Sixers’ struggles.
“It’s cool, but I had a costly turnover that cost us the game late in the fourth,” Grimes told reporters regarding his career-scoring night after Monday’s loss in Houston. “I got to be better in those situations. Know to probably hold onto the ball and get fouled, but it’s cool and all.”
Head coach Nick Nurse pointed out after Grimes’ career night that these performances are not only “incredible” for the young swingman, but also the team as a whole given how everything has played out.
Could this just be an instance of Grimes taking advantage of his opportunities and going on a hot streak at a time in the season when we see this happen more frequently? Perhaps this is the case with Grimes amid a lost cause for the 76ers, but even if he’s not actually a legitimate star, clearly the talent is there to be more than what he has been in his career.
Looking ahead, Grimes will no longer be viewed as strictly a catch-and-shoot guy on the perimeter who shoots close to 38 percent from the perimeter for his career. Instead, teams will begin to label him as a true shot creator and a player who is more than capable of hunting scoring chances without having a star create that for him.
However, will this always be his role with the 76ers? After all, Embiid, George, and Maxey will return next season. Rookie sensation Jared McCain, who suffered a season-ending knee injury this year, will also be back and take away minutes from Grimes in the backcourt.
It would be foolish to believe that Grimes will continue to be the top option in Philadelphia and see upwards of 20 shots per night like he is now. But after the Sixers stole Grimes from the Mavericks for nothing, they can’t just let him walk in free agency.
That is where everything becomes complicated for Philly.
Evaluating Quentin Grimes’ free agent market
What many tend to forget is that every NBA player is talented. Say what you want about some of these guys who are constantly coming off the bench, but Grimes’ recent heater is proof that everyone in the NBA can raise eyebrows on any given night. If you need further proof of this, look at what Jeremy Lin did over a decade ago with the New York Knicks or what TJ Warren did with the Indiana Pacers in the 2020 NBA Bubble.
These types of stories where a player gets thrown into the spotlight for a short period of time and thrives are nothing new.
Grimes is the latest player to make the most of his elevated role during what has become a lost season for his team, and these performances could not have come at a better time for the 24-year-old since he is set to become a restricted free agent in the summer.
All it takes is for one player to suffer an injury in order for another to step up in his place. Now, Grimes is not the Lou Gehrig to Maxey or George’s Wally Pipp, yet his demeanor of constantly being ready for a chance to prove himself is what makes him such a unique talent to discuss heading into the offseason.
“You got to just prepare yourself in the offseason,” Grimes stated recently, via The Philadelphia Inquirer. “You never know when an opportunity like this can be presented. But you got to be ready at all times. And I prepare like that in the offseason, off days, practice. I take it very seriously. So, I mean, as long as you stay prepared and ready, I don’t think I’m surprised by it because you have to stay ready for the opportunity. And I’m taking full advantage of it.”
Teams around the league are always seeking athletic 3-and-D wings who can create space on offense. This is who Grimes is, making him an appealing target for teams heading into his restricted free agency. Whether any team will be able to meet the price he is looking for is the big question at hand.
The Mavericks messed up by trading Grimes for Martin. But this is nothing new for Dallas, as it follows their string of questionable, puzzling moves. From Jalen Brunson to Kristaps Porzingis to Luka Doncic to now Grimes, the Mavs always seem to give up players who have and can help them find maximum success.
While Grimes could have positively impacted the Mavericks’ playoff chances this season, he is now earning himself a nice paycheck in the summer with his play in Philadelphia. But will he continue playing for the 76ers and get that coveted raise from Morey and Philadelphia’s front office?
Between Embiid, George, and Maxey, the 76ers have committed roughly $145 million to their three stars for the 2025-26 season. This team isn’t projected to have any cap flexibility, and the player options owned by Kelly Oubre Jr., Andre Drummond, and Eric Gordon could drive up the Sixers’ total cap allocations before free agency.
If they can hold onto their draft pick inside the top six, the 76ers would have another contract in the $7 million to $8 million range hitting their books. To drastically improve their chances of finding success, the Sixers are bound to become an apron team, especially if keeping Grimes is something this organization would like to do.
Even with his high-scoring performances late in the year, Grimes would be lucky to see a contract that exceeds the full mid-level exception, which will be about $14 million per season. There will be teams out there with the capability to offer Grimes a competitive offer sheet that the Sixers would have to match to retain him.
Then again, the Brooklyn Nets are the only team projected to have a lot of cap space to pursue players on the open market. But the Nets are a rebuilding team and don’t have much use for a player like Grimes if they are to retain their own young shooting guard, Cam Thomas.
The catch for the 76ers is they own Grimes’ full Bird rights, meaning they could retain him for any price if necessary. Will there be a team that potentially drives up Grimes’ asking price? This remains a key question facing the Sixers entering the offseason, as very few teams have been able to utilize offer sheets in recent years and come away with a restricted free agent since their deals are oftentimes matched right away.
As a result of Grimes’ breakout performances to end the year and the 76ers likely to keep him around for the foreseeable future after trading Martin for him, Oubre is the player who becomes interesting to discuss. Oubre owns an $8.3 million player option for next season and would likely be the odd man out if Philadelphia keeps Grimes as their starting shooting guard next to Maxey.
There is also the issue of the 76ers making it clear they will want to keep Guerschon Yabusele, who will be an unrestricted free agent, and see his salary increase from the $2 million minimum he made this season.
It is not easy keeping talent around in the offseason, and the 76ers will learn that the hard way since they have three max-level contracts eating away at their cap numbers. Even so, the bottom line is the Sixers must keep Grimes and figure out ways for him to continue growing as a secondary offensive weapon, one who could aid in what this team hopes is a major bounce-back season during the 2025-26 campaign.
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