Ad Disclosure
Farewell, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Quentin Grimes
By Matt Schultz
Published:
Kelly Oubre Jr. and Quentin Grimes will not be returning to the Sixers next season. Oubre signed a two-year, $17M deal with the Indiana Pacers:
And Grimes signed a four-year, $60M deal with the Lakers:
In three seasons with the Sixers, Kelly Oubre Jr. averaged 14.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game while shooting 45.7% from the field, 32.0% from three, and 75.4% from the free-throw line. Quentin Grimes played two seasons in Philly, averaging 15.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game while shooting 45.8% from the field, 34.8% from three, and 80.8% from the free-throw line.
I’ll be honest here: I’m a little surprised by how bummed I am about losing these two. I didn’t realize it until this moment, but I guess I was a Kelly Oubre guy. His numbers never accurately reflected his impact, in my opinion. He wasn’t a consistent shooter here, but he played hard, he defended better than you’d expect, he snagged more rebounds than you’d think, he’d get hot scoring the ball now and then, and, most importantly, he was a very solid vibes guy. Kelly always brought a positive, fun energy to this team, even in the bleakest of stretches. Having him on the Sixers was great. Tons of good Kelly memories. He got hit by a car that one time. His red hair this year was terrible. He made fun of Jalen Brunson’s massive head. He called a bunch of refs bitches:
And Quentin Grimes was just a hooper. He wasn’t consistent enough here either, but when he got going, he was tough. Remember his hot stretch right after he landed in Philly? He had a like three-week run toward the end of that 2025 season that made me believe he was the quintessential Daryl Morey diamond in the rough that no one else was smart enough to find. I had to include Grimes as a sweetener in a fantasy basketball trade around that time to land Jayson Tatum and it killed me. I really didn’t want to do it, but I needed to get that trade done (I won the league that year, also won it in 2026, I am the reigning back-to-back champ, sometimes in business you gotta make tough decisions… Guess in hindsight I sold at the exact right time…)
I went back and found Quentin’s stats from that run: During an 18-game hot stretch from March 2 to April 7, 2025, Grimes averaged 26.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 49.6% from the field and 40.3% from three. Incredible. What a month. Also, he was underrated as a defender here. He was solid. This was excellent:
Farewell, Kelly and Quentin. Congrats on your contracts. Wish you guys the best.
Matt Schultz is a comedy and sports writer from Philadelphia. He’s written extensively for ClickHole, The Onion, and Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco. His work has been featured in Vulture, Deadspin, The A.V. Club, Paste Magazine, and other publications. Much of his sports journalism can be found on college basketball websites that don’t exist anymore (PhilaHoops Heads rise up…) email: M.Schultz@sportradar.com