Overview

• The Sixers still hold the right to match any offer for Grimes after issuing an $8.74 million qualifying bid in June.
• A poll of 16 NBA executives shows annual salary projections ranging from $10 million to more than $18 million for Grimes, with most estimates near the midlevel exception.
• An anonymous executive argued that teams could hire Gary Trent Jr. for near-minimum pay rather than commit $20 million annually to Grimes.
• Industry analysts are urging Philadelphia to bridge the gap with shorter-term or two-year balloon contracts that boost Grimes’s earnings without long-term commitment.
• Philadelphia’s cap space and risk of a hard cap above the second tax apron are intensifying the need to limit future financial liabilities.