Quentin Grimes, the recent trade acquisition from Dallas, is offering a fun respite from a mostly miserable stretch of games for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Philadelphia sports fans are currently on cloud nine after their Eagles crushed the Kansas City Chiefs down in New Orleans for the franchise’s second Super Bowl victory. Meanwhile, across S 11th Street back in Philly, the Sixers have fans on some sort of thunderhead cloud threatening to unleash a tornado or hailstorm at any point. Anyone that shifted from watching a nearly flawless Eagles performance on Sunday to whatever we witnessed in the Sixers’ 106-103 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night had to experience some form of sports whiplash.
However, even amidst the massive turmoil and strife, there have been a few bright spots this season for the Sixers, and one post-trade deadline ray of hope has been recent acquisition Quentin Grimes. With Caleb Martin revealed to be more injured than believed, necessitating the Sixers to send back a second-round pick to push the trade through, it’s surprising Dallas wanted to part ways with Grimes. But, well, Quentin is just a minor footnote on the ‘surprised Dallas wanted to part ways with him’ chart these days.
In three games with Philadelphia since arriving via trade from Dallas, Grimes has already established a firm role in head coach Nick Nurse’s rotation, even shifting into the starting lineup to start the second half Tuesday night against Toronto. In over 31 minutes per game across three contests, Grimes is averaging 12.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists with only two turnovers. His dribble drive game has been more impressive than the 3-and-D label would have indicated. Quentin hasn’t been lights out as a shooter across the small sample size, going 5-of-18 (27.8 percent) from behind the arc, but the young guard has displayed versatility in that area.
Grimes can nail shots of the catch-and-shoot variety:
Quentin Grimes with the catch-and-shoot triple for his first points at the Wells Fargo Center as a Sixer! pic.twitter.com/rxroQ9t6yE
— Liberty Ballers (@Liberty_Ballers) February 12, 2025
In addition to knocking them down off the dribble:
Quentin Grimes has been aggressive as a scorer in his first shift. Went right at GTJ in ISO earlier for a bucket at the rim, and here burns Dame for going under a ball screen. pic.twitter.com/16nExZlyyH
— Jason Timpf (@_JasonLT) February 10, 2025
His tenacity as a perimeter defender is evident. In the Detroit game, I liked his recovery to block Malik Beasley’s three-pointer at the top of the key. Shades of Matisse Thybulle (shoutout to the guy who just wore a Thybulle jersey at the Super Bowl).
Grimes was the headliner of Daryl Morey’s trade deadline strategy to make this roster younger. The Sixers entered the season as the oldest team in the league, and while age may bring wisdom, it also brings slow rotations, a plodding offensive structure, and countless trips to the injury report. By bringing in Grimes and Jared Butler via a trade with Washington, and also converting former two-way player Justin Edwards to a standard NBA contract, Morey is signaling a significant and much-needed change on that front.
Now, I know nobody in Philadelphia wants to hear positivity around the Sixers. After all, these three games with Grimes have all been Sixers losses, in varying degrees of embarrassing fashion. Still, I wouldn’t lay any of that at Quentin’s feet. Whenever the Sixers do turn things around, I’d wager Grimes and this recent youth movement are heavily in the mix. Until then, enjoy Friday’s parade down Broad Street, Philadelphia.