As the Philadelphia 76ers prepare for the start of the 2025-26 season, restricted free agent Quentin Grimes has agreed to sign their one-year, $8.7 million qualifying offer (QO) to return to the team, per ESPN senior insider Shams Charania. With the former first-round pick accepting the QO, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent next offseason. If he hasn’t been traded by the deadline, both sides will have a chance to extend their partnership then.
76ers End Showdown With Restricted Free Agent Quentin Grimes
Unlike this summer, multiple teams are expected to have substantial cap space in 2026.
Restricted free agent Quentin Grimes is signing a one-year, $8.7 million qualifying offer to return to the Philadelphia 76ers, agent David Bauman told ESPN. Grimes will now hold an inherent no-trade clause and enter a more flush market in unrestricted free agency next summer. pic.twitter.com/RZz2XIPu1A
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 1, 2025
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However, if the Sixers are healthy, Grimes probably won’t be able to put up the numbers he did after the Dallas Mavericks traded him last season. With Philadelphia’s perimeter group decimated by injuries, Grimes played like a star. In 28 games, he averaged 21.9 points and 4.5 assists per contest. The fact he did it efficiently as well, shooting 46.9% from the floor (37.53 from 3), was just as significant.
It’s no wonder he believed he should be making $20-25 million per season, according to Charania. The Sixers thought otherwise, offering him a four-year, $39 million contract. That’s less than $10 million per season. Respectfully, even Chicago Bulls wing Isaac Okoro makes more than that.
What’s Next For Quentin Grimes?
Perhaps Philadelphia just wasn’t projecting Grimes to have the same impact he did in 2024-25, which is understandable. Yet, Grimes was playing quite well for a Dallas team that had Luka Doncic (33.1%), Kyrie Irving (27.4%) and Klay Thompson (21.8%), three high-usage* perimeter players. That’s not much different than Paul George (23.5%), Tyrese Maxey (29.8%) and Jared McCain (24.7%).
*usage rates in parentheses
Playing more of a 3-and-D than on-ball role with the Mavs, as he will likely have to do for the Sixers, he averaged 10.2 points per game on 38.9 percent shooting from 3. Those numbers aren’t really blowing anyone away, though he’s clearly effective even if primarily off-ball. However, knowing he can shift gears and scale up makes him more valuable. That’s even more true for the Sixers considering the injury history of the players that will be in front of him on the depth chart.
With that in mind, it’s worth keeping an eye on trade rumors involving Grimes and ear out for news about his satisfaction with his role.
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