An unrestricted free agent to monitor for the Los Angeles Lakers this summer is Philadelphia 76ers wing Quentin Grimes. Though Grimes' 3-point shooting isn't quite as efficient as what the Lakers are looking for (Grimes shot 33.4% from 3 this season and is a career 36.6% from downtown), his athleticism and aggressive approach on both ends of the floor would be additive for a Lakers team looking to surround Luka Doncic with two-way demons on the wing.
The problem for the Lakers is that most -- if not all -- of the wings they covet are also valued by plenty of other suitors around the NBA, and/or likely to be re-signed by their current clubs. According to recent intel from ESPN's Tim Bontemps, this also looks to be the case with Grimes.
Unforgivable Jared McCain trade has 76ers gripping tightly to Quentin Grimes
Because the 76ers completely messed up by trading Jared McCain this past season (an act that contributed to Daryl Morey's firing, no doubt), it's believed that Philly is under pressure to keep one or both of Grimes and wing Kelly Oubre Jr. this summer, so as not to deplete their wing depth even further.
"The belief overall is that Grimes will land something at or below the midlevel exception, and ultimately, it will come from the 76ers," Bontemps wrote. "'I do think he stays there out of pressure,' a West executive said. 'You have to keep at least one of [Grimes or Oubre], if not both, after that trade."
Lakers will be closely monitoring 76ers' offseason moves
Morey's decision to roll with Grimes over McCain at the deadline was obviously a terrible one, but whoever the Sixers hire to replace Morey might only worsen the consequences of that decision by moving on from Grimes, who -- despite being far inferior to McCain as a shooter -- isn't without significant basketball value.
On the other hand, were the 76ers to retain both Grimes and Oubre this summer, they'd surely be setting themselves up to go into the luxury tax, which they've stayed away from in recent years under Morey's watch.
The Lakers will be monitoring the situation with Grimes and Oubre all offseason long. Oubre, by the way, is another low-key target that the Lakers might consider on the wing. Once the Lakers figure out what's going to happen with LeBron James, general manager Rob Pelinka will be free to explore the entire market for wing help and an upgrade at center, although he's not exactly working with unlimited cap space.
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