Quentin Grimes is suddenly at the center of a free-agency storyline that could send him right back into Luka Dončić’s orbit.
According to reports from Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal and Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, the Sixers guard is “emerging as another top target” for the Los Angeles Lakers after LeBron James informed the team he will play elsewhere. Los Angeles is expected to go after outside help with more than $50 million in cap space, along with the room mid-level exception that can reach three years and $29.5 million.
That interest makes plenty of sense on paper. Grimes, 26, is known as a reliable three-point shooter and a versatile perimeter defender, the kind of two-way role player a team like the Lakers would want while building around Dončić and co-star Austin Reaves.
There’s also a familiar thread here. Grimes spent the first half of the 2024-25 season with Dončić before the two were separated in a stunning sequence of moves: Dončić was traded to the Lakers, then Grimes was dealt to the Sixers just days later.
For Philadelphia, the focus is already clear. Grimes is one of the team’s two primary free agents, and new Sixers President of Basketball Operations Mike Gansey said earlier this month the team wants to keep both Grimes and Kelly Oubre Jr., who is also set to hit unrestricted free agency.
NBA teams can begin agreeing to deals with outside free agents at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, and for the Sixers the first real watch points will be Grimes and Oubre.
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