June 11, 2026
Colleen Claggett/For PhillyVoice
Quentin Grimes is headed to unrestricted free agency this summer.
Is Quentin Grimes the Sixers' highest-caliber free agent?
A year ago – with all due respect to Guerschon Yabusele – the answer was unequivocally yes. Grimes was 25 years old, and coming off a torrid two-month stretch of three-level scoring, which forced his new team and others around the league to recalibrate their perceptions of him as a player.
Then came a full season in which Grimes came off the bench and failed to produce on a consistent basis. He is unquestionably a rotation-caliber guard – the sort of two-way player teams constantly covet – but the belief that he could be something much greater than expected has dissipated. Grimes and Kelly Oubre Jr. are the Sixers' primary free agents, and there is a reasonable case to be made that the veteran swingman Oubre should be a higher priority.
Given his age and three-point shooting track record, Grimes might have a more expansive market that could pull him elsewhere. A look at a few teams that figure to be in play for his services:
The Bulls will not be the only team in the NBA to utilize significant cap space this summer, but they might be the only lock to do so. Bryson Graham has taken over Chicago's front office, and with the ability to create more than $55 million in space, Graham should be in the market for young contributors.
A year ago, a team in Chicago's situation might have preferred using its financial flexibility to simply take on an unwanted salary or two and prevent itself from becoming too competitive. But the NBA's new lottery system will, in many respects, alter the way teams value the different levers they can pull. If the Bulls have no ability to lock in a top pick in the 2027 NBA Draft by bottoming out, they might as well look for players they can bank on for quality minutes and develop – even if it eventually sets up a trade.
Positionally, the Bulls had an absurd number of guards when the 2025-26 season winded down, but two of those players are set to hit free agency. Josh Giddey remains in place as Chicago's primary ball-handler; fellow point guards Tre Jones and Rob Dillingham are also under contract. They need a bigger guard, and perhaps Grimes can start next to Giddey, alongside Matas Buzelis and two bigs.
Chicago is expected to draft North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson with the No. 4 overall pick in next month's draft; unless Kansas guard Darryn Peterson unexpectedly falls to them at that spot, they should be, at least in theory, a strong fit for Grimes.
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The Clippers are set to pick at No. 5 overall, one spot after Chicago. It is a region of the draft board littered with guards. Los Angeles traded James Harden for Darius Garland in February, cementing Garland as a franchise cornerstone. It makes them an obvious landing spot for a team trying to leapfrog the rest of the pack on their guard of preference.
If the Clippers would rather draft a frontcourt player, they would be able to move back a few spots – or even more – and add more long-term assets, unbothered by what would likely be an ensuing run of guard picks. With a consensus grouping of four elite prospects at the top, the Clippers have the ability to exert significant influence over how the remainder of the lottery shakes out.
If the Clippers do not end up drafting a guard, they will have a clear need for one – ideally a player capable of playing on and off the ball. Grimes is not a perfect player, but he does generally fit that bill. Los Angeles would be armed with the non-taxpayer's mid-level exception, and could give the majority of that money to Grimes while potentially saving enough to squeeze in one additional signing.
Given Garland's slight frame, positional size next to him would be ideal. That is where Grimes looks like a better fit than, for example, fellow free-agent-to-be Coby White, widely regarded as a better player whose market should probably be a bit more competitive.
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As of this writing, the Bucks are set to enter free agency with just enough financial wiggle room to use the full mid-level exception and stay under the luxury tax threshold. But as June 23 nears, more and more national insiders have indicated that Milwaukee is likely to trade franchise icon Giannis Antetokounmpo before the 2026 NBA Draft, with a lottery pick likely to be among the assets they receive in exchange for the two-time NBA MVP.
Should the Bucks follow through on those expectations and finally put an end to the Antetokounmpo saga, they will be in the market for younger pieces capable of stepping into meaningful roles and improving. Milwaukee is also without control of its first-round picks for the remainder of the decade, so unless they regain control of any of them within the Antetokounmpo trade, they truly will have no tanking incentives.
In a post-Antetokounmpo world, the Bucks could offer Grimes, who had two excellent performances against Milwaukee last season, frequent chances to play on the ball. An opportunity to log significant minutes without much pressure is not a bad deal for Grimes, who is definitively blocked at both guard spots in Philadelphia moving forward by Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.
Whether or not Milwaukee goes after Grimes will depend on how much salary they shed in an Antetokounmpo trade, and which prospects they select in the first round. They already have the No. 10 overall pick and appear to be on the verge of tacking on another lottery pick in a stellar draft.
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