76ers want to keep Grimes, but it could be costly

New York Times

12 hours ago

LeBron is staying put in L.A., while Julius Randle's tenure with the Timberwolves will continue after he agreed to a three-year, $100 million contract. Imagn Images
Saturday afternoon, in a move first reported by The Athletic , the Philadelphia 76ers tendered Quentin Grimes an $8.7 million qualifying offer, making him a restricted free agent. That will allow Philadelphia to match any offer Grimes gets on the open free-agent market.
The Sixers have been in contact with Grimes and his camp, although the price may end up being steep. Grimes, 25, is looking for a contract that averages $25 million per season, league sources tell The Athletic. He has emerged as a dynamic scoring guard, and he gives the Sixers a mix of the ability to shoot from the perimeter and get to the basket and put pressure on the rim off the dribble. Last season, Philadelphia had too little of both skill sets on its roster.
Grimes is important to the Sixers because they need to retain all the talent they can — and he has emerged as a talent. Between Grimes, Tyrese Maxey, Jared McCain and the newly drafted VJ Edgecombe, the strength of Philadelphia's roster resides in its backcourt. Grimes is versatile enough to move to the small forward spot, which would allow head coach Nick Nurse to employ three-guard lineups. He's someone who also defends well enough to make an impact at the point of attack.
But while the 76ers can retain Grimes, they may not be able to re-sign unresticted free agent Guerschon Yabusele, which would be a big blow.
Read the rest of my 76ers offseason primer here. David Berding / Getty Images
With Naz Reid and Julius Randle in place, the Wolves will likely have to say goodbye to their other key free agent. Nickeil Alexander-Walker has likely priced himself out of Minnesota, which is trying to stay under the second apron to avoid repeater penalties on roster construction. Alexander-Walker is expected to land a deal for at least the nontaxpayer midlevel exception, which is too rich for the Wolves to go to and not go over the second apron.
The Wolves do have a few young guards and wings, including Terrence Shannon Jr. and Jaylen Clark, who the team believes are ready to step in and take Alexander-Walker's minutes should he move on.
As expected, the Phoenix Suns are holding onto center Nick Richards, league sources tell The Athletic . Richards' $5 million salary is expected to guarantee today for the 2025-26 season. Emilee Chinn / Getty Images
The Milwaukee Bucks have tendered a qualifying offer to guard Ryan Rollins, making him a restricted free agent, a league source told The Athletic.
This was expected. The Bucks liked the contributions they received from Rollins, especially as he helped them cover for Damian Lillard's absences after the All-Star Break.After taking over for Lillard as the Bucks' starting point guard following Lillard's deep vein thrombosis diagnosis in his right calf, Rollins averaged 10.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 24.4 minutes per game in his final 13 regular season contests. Rollins was converted to a rostered NBA player from a two-way contract shortly after the trade deadline.
With Lillard's torn left Achilles tendon likely sidelining the All-Star point guard for most of next season, there will be ample opportunity in Milwaukee at the point guard position. Making Rollins a restricted free agent gives the Bucks the opportunity to match any offer Rollins receives from another team and potentially bring him back next season. Joshua Gateley / Getty Images
It turns out the Thunder did yesterday's Dillon Jones-Colby Jones trade so they could rework Jaylin Williams' contract and still remain below the luxury tax line. The Thunder had a team option on Williams, which they declined, and then they re-signed him to a new three-year, $24 million deal, as first reported by ESPN
I presume this extension will be front-loaded to soften the luxury tax and apron hits once extensions for Jalen Willams and Chet Holmgren make the Thunder more expensive in 2026 and 2027. A first-year salary of $8.725 million with 8-percent declines would put the Thunder $1.2 million from the tax line with 15 players under contract. David Richard / Imagn
LeBron James' agent, Rich Paul, confirms James will exercise his $52.6 million player option.
'LeBron knows the Lakers are building for the future, and he also wants to compete for championships,' Paul told The Athleti c. 'We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future. We do want to evaluate what's best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career. He wants to make every season he has left count, and the Lakers understand that, are supportive and want what's best for him. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we've had for eight years with Jeanie (Buss) and Rob (Pelinka) and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career.'
Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith will opt out of his $15.4 million contract and enter unrestricted free agency, a team source confirmed to The Athletic .
The Lakers acquired Finney-Smith midway through last season for D'Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second-round draft picks. In 43 games with the Lakers, Finney-Smith averaged 7.9 points while hitting nearly 40 percent of his 3-point shots. He dealt with an ankle issue throughout the season and underwent surgery this offseason.
Finney-Smith, 32, is a versatile defender and knockdown spot-up shooter comfortable playing with Luka Dončić, the two becoming good friends together early in their career in Dallas.
The Lakers, who could still re-sign Finney-Smith, will have access to the full midlevel exception as a Plan B option as free agency gets under way on Monday.
I think there's a good chance Nickeil Alexander-Walker gets more than the midlevel exception when the market opens. A lot of interested teams for him out there.
LeBron James, the NBA's all-time leading scorer, exercised his $52.6 million player option to remain with the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2025-26 season, a league source told The Athletic . The decision deadline was Sunday.
James' choice is notable, as there is no guarantee about what comes after this upcoming campaign. The 40-year-old could choose to retire, a possibility he has publicly acknowledged.
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LeBron James exercises option and will remain with Lakers for his 23rd NBA season
The Wizards are receiving Dillon Jones and a 2029 second-round pick that originally belonged to the Houston Rockets from the Oklahoma City Thunder for Colby Jones, per a team source.
Nicolas Batum can receive a 20 percent raise as a non-Bird free agent without the Clippers dipping into exception money, which would take his salary to $5.6 million ... an upgrade on the $4.7 million player option he just declined. Don't be shocked if that's the exact amount of his 2025-26 salary in his next contract with LA.
Milwaukee Bucks guard Kevin Porter Jr. has informed the team that he will let his $2.5 million player option for the 2025-26 season expire and will become an unrestricted free agent this summer, league sources told me and Fred Katz.
I can confirm via league sources that Nicolas Batum has declined his player option and will enter free agency. The LA Clippers want Batum back, and Batum expressed after the season that he expects to be back as well.
The Philadelphia 76ers have officially tendered an $8.7 million qualifying offer to guard Quentin Grimes, a league source told The Athletic . Both sides continue to discuss a new deal.
Four years and $38 million for Sam Merrill is pretty phenomenal for a guy who was an late-season roster add in 2023 and basically only got his contract guaranteed for the 2023-24 season by going nuclear in summer league. This and the Lonzo Ball trade are also tells that Ty Jerome is likely not coming back to Cleveland, as the Cavs are set in the backcourt.
The other news here is that Cleveland is going for it in the injury-wracked East, set up for a two-year window where the Cavs will blow through the second apron and chase a ring. They'll likely retrench in 2027 to avoid having their 2033 draft pick moved to the end of the first round; conveniently, that's when the contracts of De'Andre Hunter, Max Strus and Ball all expire and Donovan Mitchell has a player option.
Assuming they decline Chuma Okeke's team option and add second-round pick Tyrese Proctor on a rookie minimum deal ($1.2 million), the Cavs will be $16 million over the second apron and only able to sign minimum contracts for their final two roster spots.
Davion Mitchell is getting two years and $24 million to stay with Miami, a league source tells our Joe Vardon. An 8 percent raise for Year 2 means his first-year salary is $11.55 million ... which is the amount that allows the Heat to juuuust limbo below the first-apron barrier with 15 players under contract for the current season.
Miami can get out of the tax entirely by waiving Duncan Robinson's partially guaranteed deal or by making a trade, but this number on Mitchell ensures Miami's hands aren't tied on trades. Something to file away if a certain Greek superstar becomes available later this summer.