Fans of the Detroit Pistons were confused when the team included Quentin Grimes in the trade for Tim Hardaway Jr.
It seemed like an unnecessary addition to a trade that was essentially a salary dump for Dallas, as Grimes looked like a guy who could have had a big role in Detroit.
Those questions started to get louder when Grimes played well for Dallas and then blew up last season for Philadelphia, averaging more than 20 points per game and putting up some gaudy numbers, albeit on a bad team.
Tim Hardaway Jr. was an impact veteran for the Pistons, so it all worked out in the end, but there were still fans grumbling about letting Grimes go, as he is just 25 and has shown flashes of stardom when healthy and given a chance.
But as his free agency continues to unfold, it looks like Trajan Langdon made the right move, as Grimes is about to get overpaid.
Trajan Langdon dodged a bullet with Quentin Grimes
There are some red flags around Grimes concerning his injury history and you do have to wonder about a player with obvious talent who gets traded three times in a year.
Grimes is now looking to get paid for that talent, reportedly asking for a new contract with a $25 million annual salary.
We’ll see if he actually gets that, as Philly doesn’t have any real competition for him after the rest of the league has already made their moves.
Grimes is a good player, but that is a steep cost for a guy who is essentially a backup on a good team or a volume shooter on a bad one.
It’s hard to say if Trajan Langdon saw this coming, but he obviously had no interest in paying Grimes’ next contract, so smartly moved on before he had to worry about it.
Langdon has made it clear that he’s not going to overpay for role players either in terms of annual salary or years, as he has not gone beyond two year deals for anyone yet, keeping his team financially flexible and poised to make a big move.
It’s now the 76ers who are on the clock and there is mutual interest of a reunion, but they are at risk of a big overpay here, and could end up paying 10 million more per season than Detroit is paying Caris LeVert.
Value is the name of the game under the new CBA and overpaying role players is a financial death sentence, so the Pistons losing Grimes turned out to be a blessing.