Sixers restricted free agent Quentin Grimes was “disappointed” not to receive a formal contract offer from the team until this week after he spent nearly three months on the market, writes Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
While a report on Thursday indicated that Philadelphia offered Grimes a four-year, $39MM deal, agent David Bauman explained to Scotto that that concept was “loosely pitched” by the team. That structure would essentially start with Grimes’ $8.74MM qualifying offer and would include 8% annual raises from there.
Bauman, conversely, proposed scenarios in which Grimes’ salary would start in the neighborhood of $17-21MM, with some flexibility for the team in the later years of the deal, per Scotto.
The only formal offer the 76ers have made is a one-year deal that would be worth more than Grimes’ qualifying offer but would require him to waive his implicit no-trade clause, Scotto continues. For Grimes and his camp to accept that offer, the salary would likely have to be above the non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($14.1MM) and approach $19MM, sources tell HoopsHype. However, Philadelphia’s proposal was only “slightly” above the QO amount.
As Scotto points out, a salary in that $14-19MM range would allow the Sixers to remain below the second tax apron and would give Grimes a more favorable starting point if he’s traded during the 2025/26 season. In that scenario, his new team would only have his Non-Bird rights, which allow for an offer worth up to 120% of the player’s previous salary. A 20% raise on a salary between $14-19MM could work for Grimes in 2026, whereas a 20% raise on his $8.74MM qualifying offer likely wouldn’t be sufficient.
At this point, a longer-term contract remains unlikely due to the large gap between the two sides’ proposals, according to Scotto, who confirms that Bauman has asked the 76ers about potentially moving back the October 1 deadline for Grimes to accept his qualifying offer. The two sides could agree to push back that deadline as late as March 1, though presumably Bauman is seeking a shorter-term solution.
If the Sixers don’t offer a more lucrative one-year deal or increase their multiyear offer, Grimes is expected to strongly consider signing the qualifying offer, league sources tell Scotto. If Grimes goes that route and spends the entire 2025/26 season in Philadelphia, the team would still have his Bird rights next summer, so the two sides could attempt to work out a new deal at that point, though the former first-round pick would be unrestricted.
According to Mizell, a source familiar with the negotiations “slightly pushed back” on that statement, noting the two sides have had “hours and hours” of contract discussions this offseason while characterizing the team’s offer as tentative rather than firm.
While both sides are amenable to the idea of working out a four-year agreement, they’re far apart on what the money in such a contract would look like, Jones adds.