There was once a time when New York Knicks fans thought that Quentin Grimes was going to be the next big thing. They didn't foresee that before the 2024 trade deadline, the team would send the guard in a package to the Pistons for Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanović, neither of whom were on the roster at the start of the following season. Neither is in the NBA anymore, but Grimes is still finding ways to prove the Knicks right.
In Philadelphia's 109-97 win over Orlando in the play-in tournament, Grimes had four points on 1-of-3 shooting in 22 minutes. In Game 1 of the Sixers' first-round series against the Celtics on Sunday, he didn't even take a shot in the first three quarters (he had two fouls and one turnover, though!), finishing with seven points on 3-of-6 shooting in 25 minutes.
New York avoided the headache of dealing with not extending Grimes and letting him hit restricted free agency. He thought he was worth a contract in the $30 million range last offseason, but Philadelphia wasn't willing to give him anything close to that, so he picked up his $8.7 million qualifying offer.
He bet on himself and hoped to secure a nice payday this summer as an unrestricted free agent. Well, so much for that. Grimes was inconsistent in the regular season and hasn't played a role at all in the postseason, when he can increase his value the most.
Quentin Grimes has been a non-factor for the Sixers
He went on a tear for Philadelphia after the 2025 trade deadline, when injuries ravaged the Sixers. Grimes averaged 21.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.5 steals per game in 28 contests (25 starts). He hoped to leverage that into a hefty, multi-year contract, but Daryl Morey wasn't into that.
The circumstances for Philly last year were completely different than what they are now, not just because of the injuries. They selected VJ Edgecombe in the draft, which sent Grimes to the bench. He could be a starter elsewhere, though, after his bet-on-himself season, but his play hasn't been all that convincing. That's a good thing for the Sixers, who could make a push to keep him on a team-friendly deal.
Grimes could've spent the past two games showing how he impacts winning on the biggest stage, but he put on more of a disappearing act.
It might've felt like New York was "giving up" on Grimes too soon, but extending Miles McBride on a very team-friendly deal was the right call by a long shot.
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