Sixers mailbag: Is Quentin Grimes here to stay, and do the Sixers have enough three-point shooting?

The 2025-26 NBA season is set to begin, with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets facing off on opening night, followed by the Los Angeles Lakers versus Golden State Warriors, while the Philadelphia 76ers will start their season against the Boston Celtics amidst team uncertainties.

A Sixers mailbag question addressed whether the team retains Bird rights on Quentin Grimes after he accepted his one-year, $8.7 million qualifying offer, and the potential salary they could offer without cap issues. The response confirms that the Sixers maintain Full Bird rights on Grimes, allowing them to offer any salary regardless of salary cap constraints, provided they are not hard-capped by other transactions.

Despite Grimes taking the qualifying offer, which grants him veto power over trades and makes him an unrestricted free agent next summer, the Sixers remain in a strong position to retain him if he does not attract a robust free-agent market. Grimes, a 25-year-old productive player with a two-way skillset, could see significant financial gains if he performs well this season, as he will enter free agency at age 26 with upward mobility.

The Sixers' financial situation for 2026-27 includes $44 million in room below the second apron and $22 million below the luxury tax threshold, with nine players under contract. If they use their taxpayer's mid-level exception next summer, they would be hard-capped at the second apron and have $38 million available to sign Grimes and three or four other players, potentially on minimum deals or to retain veterans like Kelly Oubre Jr. and Andre Drummond.