The Philadelphia 76ers and restricted free agent guard Quentin Grimes are “very far apart” in their contract discussions, ESPN reported Wednesday.
According to Grimes’ agent, he was only approached with his first contract offer Wednesday. He does not plan to attend the team’s media day event on Friday or travel with the team this weekend to Abu Dhabi for a training camp along with a pair of preseason exhibitions against the New York Knicks.
Grimes, 25, was traded to the 76ers from the Dallas Mavericks in February, leading a banged-up 76ers squad with 23.0 points per game after the All-Star break. A first-round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers, he wrapped up a four-year, $11.1 million rookie contract at the end of last season.
Grimes has averaged 10.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and made 37.5 percent of his 3-point attempts over four NBA seasons. He averaged a career-best 14.6 points combined with the Mavericks and Sixers last season.
If a long-term deal can’t be reached, ESPN reported the situation could end in a one-year, $8.7 million qualifying offer deal before the Oct. 1 deadline. That would make him an unrestricted free agent next offseason. A more lucrative one-year deal is possible if Grimes is willing to waive his no-trade clause, according to the report.