The Philadelphia 76ers have been nothing short of a major disappointment this season. While certainly true, it doesn’t mean they haven’t received surprising play from particular players. First, it was rookie Jared McCain. He was looking like the Rookie of the Year favorite prior to a torn meniscus ended his season prematurely. Recently, it has been the play of Quentin Grimes, who has been on the team for barely over a month. Is Quentin Grimes playing too well for the 76ers to afford giving him his next contract?
76ers May Have To Choose To Let Breakout Star Leave
Been Ballin’ For The 76ers
It should come as no surprise that Philadelphia came out on the losing end on Wednesday. They fell on the road to the Toronto Raptors by the score of 118-105. The loss dropped the 76ers record to 22-43 on the season, 5.5 games out of a Play-In Tournament position.
Once again, it was another productive outing for the 24-year-old Grimes. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard finished the outing with 29 points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks. With their three star players all out, Philadelphia has needed someone to step up in their absences.
Wednesday marked Grimes’ 15th game since joining the 76ers. He came just one point shy of his fourth 30+ point outing in the month of March. Grimes has done that four times with Philadelphia, including on February 12. On March 1, he dropped a career-high 44 points against the Golden State Warriors.
Sometimes it’s hard to find a silver lining during tough times, but Grimes is allowing 76ers fans to do so. In his 15 games for them, he is posting averages of 19.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.5 steals. The fourth-year guard is shooting 50.2% from the field, 37.6% from beyond the arc, and 75.0% from the free-throw line.
Quentin Grimes Is Due A New Contract In The Offseason
While Grimes has been rather productive for Philadelphia, he also has been traded quite frequently. The 76ers are Grimes’ fourth team since last season as he has been involved in three deals. The most recent came on February 4, when the Dallas Mavericks traded him along with a second round pick to the 76ers for Caleb Martin.
The Mavericks had the option of giving the fourth-year player a rookie scale extension in the offseason. Dallas and Grimes could not come to an agreement on terms. Thus, he will become a restricted free agent in the offseason.
Has Grimes been playing too well for the 76ers to be able to retain him? Teams are weary of being a second-apron team, so would Philadelphia want to approach being one after such a disaster of a season? All it takes is one team to offer Grimes a deal that the 76ers decide not to match.
Of course, Philadelphia has a large sum of money to give three players next season. Joel Embiid will make over $55 million, Paul George more than $51 million, and Tyrese Maxey nearly $38 million. Altogether, the three will make nearly $145 million combined.
In the meantime, Grimes will look to continue to earn himself more money on his next contract. The 76ers next play on Friday night against the Indiana Pacers.
Photo credit: © Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
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