The Philadelphia 76ers will hold their Media Day on Friday, September 26, and their training camp will begin the day after. However, Quentin Grimes will not be in attendance at the Sixers' facility for Media Day, with the two sides still far apart on a deal, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.
Since the offseason began, Philadelphia has remained extremely confident that Grimes would be a vital part of their roster alongside Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey. At no point has the organization attempted to discuss potential sign-and-trades or avenues to move him this summer, sources told ClutchPoints.
While the 76ers have stood firm on their belief of Grimes being on their roster to begin the 2025-26 season, their first formal contract offer did not come until Wednesday, two days before the team is set to hold Media Day.
As a result, he won't be attending the first team function of the preseason, and he won't travel with the team to Abu Dhabi, where they will begin their preseason and training camp at the start of October.
Daryl Morey and the 76ers' front office have operated with a cautious approach when it comes to free agency this offseason because of the uncertainty that surrounds key talents like Embiid and George.
Injuries have played a major role in the 76ers' demise over the last couple of seasons, and the organization has made it clear they will not tie themselves down to long-term money in order to keep all of their roster options on the table.
Grimes has been in search of long-term stability, which has led to this staredown with the 76ers.
At this point, one week before his deadline to accept the $8.7 million qualifying offer and with the team heading overseas to Abu Dhabi, a lot of mystery surrounds the 76ers and their ability to find common ground on a deal with Grimes.
Unlike the restricted free agency situation with Jonathan Kuminga and the Golden State Warriors, this stalemate between Grimes and the Sixers could go on past the Oct. 1 deadline to accept his qualifying offer, league sources said.
If this were to happen and Grimes passes up on the one-year qualifying offer, the 76ers' options to keep the young guard become scarce outside of offering him a one-year contract at a higher value, something that doesn't appear to be an option right before training camp starts.
Grimes returning to the 76ers by way of his qualifying offer would essentially handcuff the organization, as the 25-year-old would inherit a no-trade clause and be locked into his deal for the 2025-26 season.
The 76ers acquired Grimes and a second-round pick from the Dallas Mavericks in February in a trade that sent Caleb Martin to the Mavs. Philadelphia currently has 13 players with standard contracts entering the preseason.
