The Philadelphia 76ers returned from their preseason trip to Abu Dhabi earlier this week. Back in the practice facility on Wednesday, they were joined by Quentin Grimes, who signed a 1-year qualifying offer worth $8.7 million to return to the Sixers during their trip.
"It’s in the past," Grimes said of his recent contract negotiations. "It’s a business. I know that, but I’m here to come here, play for the city of Philly, play for my teammates, and play for coach Nurse and do what I can to help the team win."
The Sixers and Grimes remained far apart in negotiations throughout all of free agency. A restricted free agent, any offer sheet that he signed with another team could be matched by the Sixers, a fact which held back potential suitors, as did the overall lack of cap space across the league. The only alternative to agreeing upon a new
Over 90 days and several public updates from his agent passed before Grimes eventually signed the qualifying offer. It was far from the ideal situation for anyone involved, but it has at least tabled further contract discussions for now.
After practice, Grimes made it clear that despite how long negotiations lingered, and how large the distance between the ask from Grimes camp against the Sixers' offer was, he harbors no ill will and is focused on the task at hand.
"Not at all," he stated. "I’m here to play basketball, you know what I mean? I try to control what I can control and that’s how hard I go in the gym. Preparation-wise, working out my body, and I leave that up to my agent and the front office. Hopefully, I’ll be able to be back here longer. I wanted to be back here on a longer-term deal, but I’m happy to be here right now and do everything I can to help this team win."
Same team, new role for Quentin Grimes
The Sixers are not the same team they were when Grimes played for them last season. By the time he was fully acclimated to the team, Grimes had the green light to score and facilitate to his heart's content. He won't have that same luxury this year, as Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Paul George, and Jared McCain are all expected to play more this season than they did last year, not to mention the addition of VJ Edgecombe.
Grimes will have to work hard to acclimate to the designed offense, especially given his late start. So far, he seems ready and willing to do what he must.
"We got some new wrinkles on offense. I’m trying to get the terminology down just to kind of get more reps in with the guys. Learn the plays a little more. I was here for about two months last year and we got a whole new offense and I came here a little late so just trying to get the reps in with the guys before practice, after practice, off days. I’ve been here since Saturday so Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, so just trying to get as many reps possible as I can."
