76ers may be making the painfully obvious Quentin Grimes call right before our eyes

With nine wins and six losses through their first fifteen games, the Philadelphia 76ers have made a more than respectable start to the season. While the record could have been better, it could also have been a lot worse, especially as the team was still on a dangerous tango and the injury bug broke out night in and out.

Thanks to their electric backcourt, however, the 76ers appear to have already set themselves up as a shoo-in to make the postseason. One of their early standouts is Quentin Grimes, who may be one of the frontrunners for the Sixth Man of the Year award given his strong all-round play to kick-start his fifth year in the league.

Grimes has embraced his role as the team’s top option off the bench, averaging nearly 17 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists per outing while shooting 46.5 percent from the field, including an impressive 40.2 percent success rate from beyond the arc. Clearly, he has become a vital piece of the puzzle for the 76ers.

That said, the 76ers may have something different (and unpopular) planned for their super sixth man.

The 76ers may present Quentin Grimes for a possible trade

As everyone knows, both the 76ers and Grimes’ camp have engaged in such a strenuous push-and-pull during free agency. While both sides ultimately came to a Band-Aid resolution when Grimes settled for the team’s qualifying offerIn fact, they just postponed the matter until next year.

Grimes’ free agency will remain delicate next year, and despite his solid production, the 76ers could still find it difficult to invest big money on him. That is precisely why the door to a transaction in which he is involved cannot simply be considered closed.

Should VJ Edgecombe continue his awe-inspiring run as a rookie and Jared McCain regain his mojo, the front office will certainly consider liquidating Grimes for assets before the deadline. This will of course be interpreted as a defeatist attitude of austerity on their part, but that is precisely the consequence of such a confused payroll administration.

Trading Grimes will be far from ideal. After all, he has emerged as one of the most stable players on the 76ers roster. However, given their lack of financial flexibility, he will most likely be one of the biggest casualties as the front office becomes more conscious of its spending.

Unfortunately, if the 76ers resort to that unpopular option, they will also be victims of their own doing. It’s just the way it is.