New Sixers President's Philosophy Bodes Poorly For One Looming Free Agent

The Sixers officially introduced Mike Gansey as their new president of basketball operations on Monday. While he deftly deflected most of the questions thrown his way, he did sneak in a few answers that hinted at his team-building philosophy.

One of them might not bode well for Quentin Grimes' chances of staying in Philadelphia.

"I want guys that want to be in Philly, first and foremost," Gansey said. "Obviously, guys that can fit around our players that we have currently under contract. I want fountains, not drains. I want guys with high character, guys with high work ethics, and guys that want to be in Philadelphia."

He later elaborated on the "fountains, not drains" metaphor.

"I don't want people sucking out the life in the building," Gansey added. "I want people to get in their car in the morning, drive to the facility and be like, 'I get to see my family.' We've gotta have a fun environment, and we are gonna have a fun environment, 'cause everyone in this building, we see each other more than we see our own families."

It's unclear how—or if—Grimes fits into that vision.

Is Grimes a goner?

Grimes was a revelation for the Sixers after his arrival at the 2025 trade deadline, but that late-season Mickey Mouse run didn't pay off for him as hoped. He and the Sixers couldn't find common ground on a new deal in restricted free agency last offseason, which led him to accept his one-year, $8.7 million qualifying offer instead.

Grimes seemed like he's had one foot out the door ever since then.

With Gansey replacing former team president Daryl Morey, perhaps Grimes could look at this as a fresh start to negotiations with a new front office executive. However, his tape won't lie. His body language all season hardly suggested that he envisioned himself staying in Philadelphia long-term.

After the New York Knicks swept the Sixers out of the Eastern Conference semifinals, a pair of reporters asked Grimes about his future. He demurred both times, effectively saying that he hadn't "really given any thought" to it. At no point did he declare that he wanted to return to the Sixers.

Granted, Grimes has only himself and his former agent to blame for how free-agency negotiations went for him last summer.

Shortly before free agency began, Tony Jones of The Athletic reported that Grimes was "looking for a contract that averages $25 million per season." According to ESPN's Shams Charania, Grimes' camp initially "indicated it desired a contract in the $30 million range early in free agency and then a deal at around $20 million to $25 million," all of which was deeply unserious.

Granted, the Sixers weren't exactly negotiating in good faith, either. Grimes' former agent told Charania that the Sixers' first formal offer came "nearly three months into free agency" and was a four-year, $39 million deal. "Days later, Grimes wss offered a one-year, $8.8 million deal that gave him $100,000 more than his qualifying offer in order to waive an inherent no-trade clause," Charania added.

Bauman—whom Grimes has since parted ways with, for what it's worth—told Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice at the time that Grimes felt "a lot of disrespect coming from Daryl and the Sixers." Aaronson added that if Grimes did return, the Sixers were aware that "they could have work to do in terms of making him feel valued and appreciated."

It's unclear what (if anything) the Sixers did in that regard this past season, or what Gansey might have up his sleeve over the next few weeks. But the Sixers will have an exclusive negotiating period with Grimes starting one day after the NBA Finals end, which should help them get a sense of how willing he is to return.

Salary-cap implications of Grimes' free agency

ESPN's Tim Bontemps recently reported that "the belief overall is that Grimes will land something at or below the mid-level exception, and ultimately, it will come from the 76ers." One Western Conference executive told Bontemps that he thought Grimes would re-sign with the Sixers "out of pressure," because the Sixers had to "keep at least one of [Grimes or Kelly Oubre Jr.], if not both," after trading away Jared McCain to the OKC Thunder.

"And if they don't go into the tax, they're going to get crushed," the executive added.

The executive is 100% right about the latter. Yours truly will personally ensure that. The former is less of a certainty, particularly given Gansey's team-building philosophy.

Grimes does have the Sixers in what John Hollinger of The Athletic calls the "Bird Rights Trap," which could increase the likelihood of his return. Essentially, the Sixers will not have an equivalent amount of salary-cap space to replace Grimes if he departs this offseason. In fact, they won't have any cap space regardless of what happens with Grimes or Oubre.

If Grimes leaves and they re-sign Oubre, the Sixers aren't likely to have enough wiggle room under the projected $209 million first apron to have access to the full $15.0 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception. At best, they'd have the $6.1 million taxpayer MLE.

They might be able to find someone at that price point who can adequately replace what Grimes brings to the table, particularly if other free agents get squeezed this offseason. However, the recent draft-lottery reform incentivizes teams to avoid finishing with a bottom-three record, which could increase the number of bidders in free agency.

The Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards went into this past season with zero intention of contending for a playoff spot right away. They were perfectly content with finishing at the bottom of the standings and increasing their chances of landing a high-lottery pick. But the new system will punish any teams that follow suit this year, so teams might be more eager to add rotation players such as Grimes in free agency.

If the Sixers reward Grimes with a contract that makes him feel valued, perhaps he would be more bought in moving forward. But the version of Grimes that was on display this past season doesn't seem to fit with Gansey's team-building philosophy moving forward, and the Sixers might face steep competition for Grimes thanks to the new lottery reform.

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Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.

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