Grimes signs one-year qualifying offer for 8.74M to stay with 76ers

Quentin Grimes has ended a months-long contract standoff with the Philadelphia 76ers by signing his one-year qualifying offer on Wednesday, securing an 8.74 million dollar deal that will keep him with the team for the upcoming season and make him an unrestricted free agent in 2026. The decision comes on the league deadline for the offer and follows negotiations that had kept Grimes away from training camp and the Sixers' preseason trip to Abu Dhabi.

Grimes and the Sixers had been far apart on a long-term agreement. His agent, David Bauman, said the team’s first formal proposal was a four-year, 39 million dollar contract, while Grimes' camp at one point sought annual compensation in the 20 to 25 million dollar range and presented alternative offers that included a one-year, 17 million dollar proposal and a two-year, 34 million dollar deal with a player option. Team officials declined requests to push back the qualifying offer deadline by a week, a move Bauman had sought to allow more time for talks.

Accepting the qualifying offer ends the impasse but does not provide the long-term security Grimes sought. The qualifying offer carries an implied no-trade protection for the season,...