Former Detroit Pistons player Quentin Grimes has been embroiled in standoff with the 76ers this summer and the two sides are reportedly far apart on a deal. Given what we’ve seen with the shooting guard market lately, it’s an issue the Pistons could have next offseason with Jaden Ivey.
Grimes is holding out for $25+ million per season according to reports, after having a nice stretch for Philly where he averaged 22 points, five rebounds and four assists per game on good shooting splits.
This was only in 28 games, so an even smaller sample size than Ivey put up with the Pistons last season. Grimes more than doubled his scoring output after he moved from Dallas to Philly, but that was to be expected, as Philly was tanking and Grimes was playing huge minutes and shooting as much as he wanted, luxuries he likely won’t be afforded on a contending team.
Philly has reportedly made an official offer of 4 years/$39 million a far cry from what Grimes wants. The 76ers clearly see Grimes as more of a quality role player, while he sees himself as a star. It's not far off what some people think the Pistons should offer Ivey.
The question is whether the Pistons will go through the same thing next offseason or if they can work out a mutually beneficial deal.
Jaden Ivey’s extension and the market for shooting guards
This offseason was somewhat of an outlier, as there were only a few teams with any kind of cap space, so restricted free agents had no leverage with the teams holding all of the cards.
That won’t be true every offseason, but we are seeing a growing trend when it comes to free agent shooting guards. Restricted free agent Cam Thomas was unable to find a deal and had to accept a qualifying offer.
If you are a shooting guard, you had better be a superstar if you want to get paid like one, and there are even questions about those guys. Would you want to pay Devin Booker over $70 million a year when he’s not a good defender? Me either.
Teams that have inked shooting guards to big deals recently may regret them already, as guys like Immanuel Quickley and Malik Monk, though good, are arguably not worth the investments their teams have made in them, as you can find less expensive players who do the same things. Ask the Pistons, who got Malik Beasley for $6 million last season, five times less than Quickley was paid.
Trade value for players like Anfernee Simons, Zach LaVine, Jordan Poole and Jalen Green weren’t nearly as high as the trading teams hoped, and most of them ended up as part of salary dumps.
The Heat are pondering whether Tyler Herro is worth investing in long term, so there is a trend here.
This doesn’t bode well for Jaden Ivey’s bank account, as the Pistons can see clearly that the market for two guards is not what it once was as teams increasingly look for big, versatile wings to build around.
Grimes is the canary in the coal mine for shooting guards, and you have to wonder if he too will have to begrudgingly accept a qualifying offer.