NBA Insider Reveals 76ers’ Position Without Quentin Grimes Amid $8.7M Dilemma

Leaving the thoughts of the dreaded 24-58 campaign last season, the Philadelphia 76ers’ mood looks upbeat. Their Big 3, Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey, all battled injuries but are optimistic about their chances this year. But not every player is positive. Cue the restricted free agent guard Quentin Grimes, whose saga doesn’t seem to end. By the first of October, it has to end, and there might be a reason for the delayed tactic of the franchise.

The 25-year-old’s qualifying offer will automatically expire on Oct. 1. Both the franchise and player don’t have much time to hash out terms, either on a one-year deal or a long-term contract.”Without Quentin Grimes in the fold, the 76ers are: $1.7M under the tax $9.8M under the first apron $21.7M under the second apron Grimes on the $8.7M qualifying offer or a new deal will put Philadelphia in the tax. The real question: Are they ok going well over the first apron?” Previously, there were reports of two contracts on the table.

First option was the one-year, $8.7 million qualifying offer, and a “one-year balloon payment” which would require him to waive his implicit no-trade clause. But what would be the trouble if the 76ers cross the cap restrictions? If the Sixers cross the first apron at any point this season, they won’t be allowed to take back more salary than they send out in a trade.

They are sitting just $9.8M under the first apron, following Andre Drummond and Kelly Oubre exercising their player options. Now, if they do take back more salary than they send out, they’ll be hard-capped at the first apron through June 30, 2026, simply meaning they couldn’t cross that threshold under any circumstances. These talks have now taken months with multiple murkier actions. The qualifying offer is also bad for the player.

If Grimes gets traded after accepting his qualifying offer, his new team will only have non-Bird rights on him. His new team, therefore, couldn’t offer him more than 120% of the value of his qualifying offer (roughly $10.4 million) as the starting salary of his next contract. That’s why Keith Smith’s question of the 76ers’ dilemma makes sense. Both the players and the Sixers should be motivated to avoid the qualifying offer at all costs, as it’s a lose-lose scenario for both sides.

Without Quentin Grimes in the fold, the 76ers are:

$1.7M under the tax
$9.8M under the first apron
$21.7M under the second apron

Grimes on the $8.7M qualifying offer or a new deal will put Philadelphia in the tax. The real question: Are they ok going well over the first apron?

— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) September 28, 2025

Previously,Grimes’ agent, David Bauman, later told Gina Mizell of the Philadelphia Inquirer that the Sixers had also offered Grimes a four-year, $39 million contract. But one of the franchise sources “strongly refuted” to Mizell. Now, recently, the restricted free agent guard Quentin Grimes was not on the Sixers’ team flight for preseason games in Abu Dhabi. In fact, the Philadelphia front office also declined the request from Grimes’ agent to push back the 10/1 deadline to accept his qualifying offer.

But it seems the franchise has another option up its sleeve to keep the 25-year-old happy in Philadelphia.

To keep Quentin Grimes, the Sixers might cut two veterans

Let’s understand his impact on the team first, which was a huge positive. He appeared in 28 games after the trade in February. In those games, the 25-year-old was absolutely instrumental and played an average of 33.7 minutes while contributing with 21.9 points per game. So, the franchise should make efforts to keep its young star, right? “There has been buzz all summer long about the Sixers looking to potentially move one of, if not both, Andre Drummond and Kelly Oubre,” according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.

Currently, Drummond will make $5 million next season in the final year of his contract, while Oubre Jr. will make $8.4 million in the final year of his deal. For now, Philadelphia is approximately $11 million below the first tax apron, barring Adem Bona’s contract becoming guaranteed one day before opening night. It’s clear that trading them would help the 76ers be in a better position to offer more money to re-sign restricted free agent Quentin Grimes.

The  76ers could dump Drummond’s salary in a trade; that would make them $16 million below the first apron. Another thing that could be in Grimes’ favor could be the injury of a teammate. Jared McCain tore the UCL in his right thumb during a workout on Thursday, just hours before media day and days before camp begins. This puts pressure on the franchise, and they could expedite the process of re-signing Grimes.

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