The Philadelphia 76ers are around six weeks away from kicking off their 2025-26 season, one that could be a make or break year for the Joel Embiid era. The 76ers have worked hard to put together some young pieces, including recent 2025 draftee VJ Edgecombe, around Embiid and Paul George, but it remains to be seen whether that will be enough to truly compete this season.
The biggest storyline for the 76ers down the stretch of last year was the play of Quentin Grimes, whom the team acquired from the Dallas Mavericks. Grimes put together the best stretch of basketball of his career at the end of last season, when the 76ers had already pulled the plug on the year, consistently scoring in the high 20s all the way up into the 40s at one point.
Grimes has yet to be re-signed on a new contract by Philadelphia this summer, and recently, NBA insider Jake Fischer broke down what moves the 76ers could make to help accelerate that process.
“There has been buzz all summer long about the Sixers looking to potentially move one of, if not both, Andre Drummond and Kelly Oubre,” said Fischer, via Bleacher Report, per HoopsHype. “If they are able to find a deal for one of those two guys as we get closer to camp, that would open up some more wiggle room for Philadelphia to be able to pay Quentin Grimes a little bit more than what he's looking for right now and what that qualifying offer would be. So, that situation, I think, is still one that's undetermined as well.”
It should also be noted that Grimes posted a picture of himself in a 76ers uniform on his Instagram story earlier this week.
A big decision for the 76ers
Re-signing Grimes would give the 76ers yet another combo guard in addition to Edgecombe, Tyrese Maxey, and Jared McCain. While it's certainly a good thing to have this much guard talent, the 76ers have almost nothing in terms of wing depth behind Paul George, which is especially troubling considering how much of an injury risk at this stage of his career.
Parting ways with Oubre in order to sign a player for a position at which they are already overcrowded might not be the wisest thing for Philadelphia long term.
