Quentin Grimes spent much of his first four seasons looking like a player who’d be solid without ever developing into much more than a low-volume, three-and-D wing.
In Years 1 through 3, he averaged 8.5 points and hit 37.1 percent of his three-point attempts.
But after a contract-year trade to the injury-ravaged Philadelphia 76ers, Grimes erupted for 21.9 points, 4.5 assists and 2.9 threes over his last 28 games.
He showed a previously unseen (or at least unhighlighted) ability to create shots both for himself and others. He maintained his outside shooting efficiency and still looks like he has multipositional defensive ability.
In most years, all of that would translate to a pretty healthy payday. But Grimes, like those already detailed, is a restricted free agent. There’s really no reason for Philadelphia to pony up a huge deal, since the lack of cap space around the league has almost entirely eliminated competition for his services.