Quentin Grimes has earned himself a pay rise this summer. He shone for the Philadelphia 76ers after joining the franchise as part of the Caleb Martin trade.
However, Grimes joined the Sixers on an expiring contract, making him a restricted free agent this summer. His exceptional production ensured his value around the league spiked. Now, the Sixers must pay up, if they want their scoring guard around long-term.
According to a June 21 report from Jake Fischer, via the SteinLine newsletter, Grimes is likely to reach a contract offer worth more than the $14.1 million mid-level exception.
“Multiple numbers-crunchers we consulted indicated that Grimes, after his breakout scoring for the Sixers in March, does appear to be heading for a payday that starts north of the $14.1 million midlevel exception,” Fischer reported.
Grimes played in 28 games for the Sixers. He averaged 21.9 points, 4.5 assists and 5.2 rebounds during his debut run with Nick Nurse’s team, shooting 37.3% from deep and 55.9% from 2-point range.
However, it will be interesting to see whether the upcoming draft could hurt Grimes’ chances of sticking with the Sixers. After all, if they add a guard with the third overall pick, Daryl Morey may view Grimes as an unnecessary roadblock.
Sixers Also Face a Battle to Keep Guerschon Yabusele
Grimes isn’t the only player the Sixers could struggle to keep this summer. Guerschon Yabusele also played himself into a bigger contract. He is an unrestricted free agent. According to a recent report from Marc Stein and Jake Fischer, Yabusele may be too expensive for the Sixers to keep around.
“With a trio of Sixers veterans — Kelly Oubre Jr., Andre Drummond and Eric Gordon — all expected to soon activate the player options in their respective contracts for next season, it looks as though it will be increasingly challenging for Philadelphia to re-sign beloved big man Guerschon Yabusele,” The duo reported. “The former first-round pick from France, who played last season on a minimum deal, is projected to have a strong market in free agency.”
Yabusele proved himself to be a valuable rotational forward in the NBA. He averaged 11 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists, shooting 50.1% from the field and 38% from deep.
Morey Wants to Keep Yabusele With The Sixers
During a recent news conference, Morey was clear that he would like to keep Yabusele around long-term.
“We love what Guerschon was able to bring,” Morey said, via Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire. “I think that was a great job by our scouting department. A great job by the coaching staff getting the most out of him. Just like Paul (George), he got pressed into some roles that were a little different from what he thought. We thought he was gonna play more of the 4 and he’s excelled there. He gave us a lot of minutes at the 5 as well.”
The Sixers have some tough choices to make this summer. How they choose to approach them will have a legitimate impact on the upcoming season. Nevertheless, it would be wise for Morey to re-sign Grimes. He was too important to the Sixers to allow him to leave in free agency.
Unfortunately, that would likely mean waving goodbye to Yabusele.
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