Leaving the thoughts of the dreaded 24-58 campaign last season, the Philadelphia 76ers’ mood looks upbeat. The majority of their roster, including their Big 3, Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey, all battled injuries. Now the squad is upbeat about its chances of contending this year. But not every player is positive. Cue the restricted free agent guard Quentin Grimes, whose saga doesn’t seem to end. By the first of October, it has to end, and there might be a reason for the delayed tactics of the franchise.

The 25-year-old’s qualifying offer will automatically expire on Oct. 1. Both the franchise and player don’t have much time to hash out terms, either on a one-year deal or a long-term contract.”Without Quentin Grimes in the fold, the 76ers are: $1.7M under the tax $9.8M under the first apron $21.7M under the second apron Grimes on the $8.7M qualifying offer or a new deal will put Philadelphia in the tax. The real question: Are they ok going well over the first apron?”

They are sitting just $9.8M under the first apron, following Andre Drummond and Kelly Oubre exercising their player options. Now, The 76ers have to manage and make sure that they send out more salary than they take back. If they fail to follow a simple rule, they’ll be hard-capped at the first apron through June 30, 2026. So, they will be avoiding that situation at all costs, which will be alarming for Grimes. Previously, there were reports of two contracts on the table.

First option was the one-year, $8.7 million qualifying offer, and a “one-year balloon payment” which would require him to waive his implicit no-trade clause. Controlling his future seems the right option for Quentin Grimes. But the NBA and the CBA rules are never that straightforward. It will be a financial loss for him. Assuming he signs the qualifying offer and then the team trades him, the new team will only have non-Bird rights on him.

Meaning, their contract over will be limited to 120% of his current qualifying contract–approximately $10.4 million. That’s why Keith Smith’s question of the 76ers’ dilemma makes sense. Since neither party will benefit from this outcome. That’s why some are calling it a “lose-lose scenario for both sides.” There is more to this saga.

In the off-season, Grimes received a contract extension, but it was not a valid one. His agent, David Bauman, confidently said to the Philadelphia Inquirer that there was a four-year, $39 million contract on the table. Surprisingly, one of the franchise sources was quick and “strongly refuted” such claims. With his contract in limbo, the 76ers decided that Grimes wouldn’t be part of the team’s flight as they began their preseason games in Abu Dhabi. In another twist, the Philadelphia front office also declined the request from Grimes’ agent to push back the 10/1 deadline to accept his qualifying offer.

But it seems the franchise has another option up its sleeve to keep the 25-year-old happy in Philadelphia.

To keep Quentin Grimes, the Sixers might cut two veterans

Let’s understand his impact on the team first, which was a huge positive. He appeared in 28 games after the trade in February. In those games, the 25-year-old was absolutely instrumental and played an average of 33.7 minutes while contributing with 21.9 points per game. So, the franchise should make efforts to keep its young star, right? “There has been buzz all summer long about the Sixers looking to potentially move one of, if not both, Andre Drummond and Kelly Oubre,” according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.

Currently, Drummond will make $5 million next season in the final year of his contract, while Oubre Jr. will make $8.4 million in the final year of his deal. For now, Philadelphia is approximately $11 million below the first tax apron, barring Adem Bona’s contract becoming guaranteed one day before opening night. It’s clear that trading them would help the 76ers be in a better position to offer more money to re-sign restricted free agent Quentin Grimes.

The  76ers could dump Drummond’s salary in a trade; that would make them $16 million below the first apron. Another thing that could be in Grimes’ favor could be the injury of a teammate. Jared McCain tore the UCL in his right thumb during a workout on Thursday, just hours before media day and days before camp begins. This puts pressure on the franchise, and they could expedite the process of re-signing Grimes.