Quentin Grimes didn’t need much convincing once the Los Angeles Lakers got involved. In his telling, the Philadelphia 76ers barely tried to keep him around, while JJ Redick’s presence in Los Angeles gave the decision real weight.
In a report published Thursday by Andscape’s Marc J. Spears, Grimes laid out why the Lakers became the easier choice. He agreed to a four-year, $60 million contract with Los Angeles during the offseason, and Redick was at the center of it.
“He was the main selling point,” Grimes said. “I saw the [offensive] freedom he gave guys the last two years. Being a part of that offense will be a great opportunity for me to take my game to the next level and hopefully take my team to the next level as well.”
Grimes also said the moment hit him hard when he learned the deal was done.
“I kind of broke down when the news broke with Shams and everything,” Grimes said.
That move came after a long stretch of contract uncertainty with Philadelphia, starting with his decision on Oct. 1, 2025 to accept the Sixers’ one-year, $8.7 million qualifying offer. That deal gave him the right to refuse trades the following season and set him up to reach unrestricted free agency in 2026.
His agent, David Bauman, told ESPN that Philadelphia first offered four years and $39 million, then later put forward a one-year, $8.8 million deal that would have required Grimes to give up his trade veto. Neither side closed the gap. Grimes’ camp responded with a one-year, $17 million proposal and then a two-year, $34 million offer with a player option, but Philadelphia passed on both.
Those were the 2025 negotiations, not the summer when he landed with the Lakers. Once he finished that extra season in Philadelphia, the market looked very different. Los Angeles’ deal averages $15 million per year, well above the earlier Philadelphia proposal that would have averaged $9.75 million.
The difference is more than just the numbers. The two contracts would have covered different seasons, with the qualifying-offer year sitting in between. Still, the Lakers clearly made a bigger commitment to Grimes than the Sixers did.
What Los Angeles wants from him goes beyond simple scoring. The Lakers added him as part of an offseason push to build around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, with Grimes, Collin Sexton and Sandro Mamukelashvili joining after the agreement to acquire Walker Kessler.
Last season, Grimes averaged 13.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists for Philadelphia. That kind of production points to a player who can do more than stand in the corner and wait for a catch-and-shoot look.
For the Lakers, the appeal is his ability to keep the offense flowing around established creators. He can attack a gap, make the next pass and force a defense to scramble before it resets. That is the kind of connective play that matters when Doncic and Reaves are already carrying so much of the creation load.
Redick has already pointed to that fit. After Tuesday’s game against Golden State, he spoke about Grimes’ ability to create an advantage or take advantage of one already in motion. He also singled out his work on defense.
“I think his commitment to the defensive end has been really good throughout camp and in these first two games,” Redick said.
That matters because a box score line by itself does not tell the whole story. The real question is how Grimes functions next to Doncic and Reaves, and how much defensive responsibility he can handle while still being useful on offense.
His first two preseason outings offered a decent early read. He scored 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting against Sacramento, then added 12 points on 3-of-8 shooting against Golden State. Over those games, he went 8-of-15 from the field and 4-of-9 from 3-point range.
Those are encouraging numbers, but they only go so far. Fifteen shots across two games does not reveal what he’ll look like when opponents are game-planning for him every night.
The more useful preseason question is how he creates value when the first option doesn’t work. Can he stay productive when the possession shifts? Can the Lakers keep their lineups balanced when the substitutions start rolling?
Lakers Daily recently looked at the battle for two starting spots around Doncic, Reaves and Kessler. Grimes’ early production gives him a strong case for a meaningful role, but a good preseason and a new contract do not lock in the regular-season rotation.
The money is in place. The fit is still being sorted out. And Redick’s emphasis on defense makes clear that Grimes will be judged on more than his shot-making.
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