Joel Embiid has witnessed his fair share of contract negotiations and high-profile trade requests during his 11 seasons as the face of the 76ers’ organization.
It’s why he was one of the first to be asked how much contact he or his teammates had with Quentin Grimes.
As an unsigned restricted free agent, Grimes missed Friday’s Media Day and Saturday’s training camp practice. The shooting guard is also scheduled to miss Sunday’s practice and will miss the team’s upcoming trip to Abu Dhabi to face the New York Knicks in exhibition games on Thursday and next Saturday.
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Are Embiid and the Sixers supporting Grimes while he stays away in pursuit of a multi-year contract worth $25 million per season?
“I’ll give you the same answer I gave the last few times it happened,” Embiid said following Saturday morning’s practice. “Whoever is here, he’s here for a reason. You wanna be here? You’re welcome to be here. You don’t wanna be here. You can’t force someone to be here.
“But as players, this is a business. You gotta do what you gotta do as an individual to take care of yourself and your family. So, just like it happened the last couple of times I’ve been here, it’s the same thing. I don’t blame anybody. I think we’re here with what we have, and I also don’t blame those guys who wanted to take care of themselves. That’s the right play. That’s what I would do if I was in that situation, too.”
Grimes’ agent, David A. Bauman, told The Inquirer Thursday afternoon that the Sixers’ first formal offer came Wednesday at four years and $39 million. Bauman reiterated that those were the initial terms on subsequent requests for comment on the same day.
However, on Saturday, a source familiar with the negotiations refuted the claim that a formal offer had ever been made for that amount, saying that the sides have remained far apart.
As a result, the sides appear more likely to agree to a one-year deal. Grimes could accept his $8.7 million qualifying offer, which has a no-trade clause. The deadline to pick up the offer is Wednesday. Another option is receiving a one-year “balloon” deal for a higher salary that comes with waiving his no-trade clause.
“I don’t blame them, but I think the focus should be on who’s here and what we’re doing as a team,” Embiid continued about teammates going through contract negotiations. “Like, how are we gonna get better every single day — especially last year? The outside noise, I think, we’ve dealt with a lot, and I think it affected many people in this building. Not just the players.
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This year, I think we should focus on [the fact that] we got a job to do. As coaches, they’re supposed to prepare us. As players, we got a job to do and whatever it takes to win. Front office, make the team better. No matter what it takes. So, that should really be the focus.”
The bounce back
Saturday was a big day for Embiid, who participated in most of the morning practice during the first day of training camp. This comes after he had arthroscopic surgery in his left knee in April.
It was Feb. 28 when the Sixers determined that he was medically unable to play and would remain sidelined for the remainder of last season to focus on surgery, treatment and rehabilitation.
Embiid, the 2023 league MVP, played only 19 games last season.
“Everything from the start was live. He was in there participating in that stuff,” said coach Nick Nurse of Embiid. “He didn’t do everything, but he did do quite a bit…
“…He was moving good and playing hard, and he had great spirit out there today.”
Meanwhile, Paul George and Trendon Watford were relegated to individual sessions on the court. Watford is dealing with right hamstring tightness and is listed day-to-day. George is recovering from July’s arthroscopic surgery in his left knee.
Embiid said working on the offense was the main priority of the first practice.
“We got a few new guys who need to get to know each other,” he said. “… We changed it quite a bit. So, yeah, just focusing on that and, obviously, that goes in hand with the defense, too, so working on the principles. Yeah. We go from there.”