When the Detroit Pistons traded for Tim Hardaway Jr. last offseason it looked like a classic salary dump, as the Mavs gave up three second-round picks to get THJ off their books.
They were desperate to do so, which is why it was baffling at the time that the Pistons had to include Quentin Grimes, a caveat that looked even worse when Grimes started playing well.
The hindsight judges went into fever pitch when Grimes joined the 76ers and blew up, averaging over 21 points and suddenly shooting nearly eight 3-pointers per game.
The trade worked for both teams in the end, as THJ was an important part of the Pistons’ renaissance and Grimes was able to build his value in a bigger role. The Pistons also walked away with three picks, so even though the trade looked worse in retrospect, it certainly wasn’t a disaster for the Pistons.
But Grimes is a player they definitely could have used in the playoffs, as they needed more scoring punch and defense off the bench with Malik Beasley struggling for most of the series.
Could the Pistons bring Grimes back? Hunter Patterson of The Athletic (subscription) threw that idea out in a recent article about free agents, listing Grimes as guy the Pistons could pursue.
However, there are a few challenges to any reunion between Grimes and the Pistons.
The Detroit Pistons and Quention Grimes aren’t a great match
The first issue with signing Grimes this summer is that he’s only a restricted free agent, and after the way he played this season, he’s one that Philly would love to retain, as he was one of the only positives from their nightmare season.
Stealing a restricted free agent is never easy, as the 76ers will have a chance to match any offer the Pistons make, so it would likely take a deal well beyond where the Pistons would be comfortable going for Grimes.
Signing a guy like Grimes would make it impossible to keep Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr and Dennis Schroder in free agency, as the Pistons would have to use most of their cap space to poach grimes from Philly.
Grimes is probably the best player of this group when healthy, but he’s missed a lot of games in his career and the Pistons don’t want to take risks on guys with sketchy injury histories.
There were also rumblings that Grimes didn’t want to be in Detroit. Though that was never confirmed, it was written about in several sources, so I have to assume there is at least some truth to it.
That doesn’t mean Grimes wouldn’t sign with Detroit and it may just have been that he didn’t see a role for himself with the Pistons moving forward, a role that could be there now.
All of this adds up to Grimes being a long shot this summer, even more so when you consider the Pistons have more pressing needs.