On February 4, almost a month ago, the Dallas Mavericks traded away Quentin Grimes and a 2025 second-round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers for Caleb Martin and a second-round pick in 2030.
In an initial eye test for Mavericks fans, this trade felt rushed. Grimes had been playing very good basketball in Dallas and was playing hard on both ends of the floor. He had become a fan favorite, and he typically made a major impact when given the proper minutes.
On the other side of this trade, Martin hasn’t played in a game since January 10 due to a right hip strain he suffered. He was out of Philly’s lineup before he was even traded to the Mavs, and fans are getting impatient with Nico Harrison’s decision to make this move.
The Quentin Grimes trade is one of Nico Harrison’s worst blunders
With the current injury curse that Dallas is dealing with, it’s quite obvious that Grimes would be a big time piece to help this team stack up some wins in the last full month of NBA regular season basketball.
With P.J. Washington leaving Saturday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks with right ankle soreness, Dallas didn’t have too many shot creators on the floor for the second half. Every possession in the third quarter had felt like a Mavericks miss and a Bucks bucket.
Jason Kidd was asked why Klay Thompson didn’t receive much playing time in the third quarter, and his response was: “Well, we’re trying to get stops.” Not only did this statement feel like Kidd threw some shade at Thompson, but at the same time, the Mavericks and Harrison should have reconsidered trading away one of their best defenders.
In the same night that this all happened, Grimes had gotten his first win with the 76ers while dropping 44 points, six rebounds, and shooting an absurdly efficient 18-24 from the field.
According to Yahoo Sports NBA analyst, Kevin O’Connor, Grimes’ agent had wanted him to be traded out of Dallas due to Max Christie being packaged in the Luka Doncic – Anthony Davis blockbuster deal. His agent had thought Grimes would lose some playing time and opportunity due to Christie becoming a Maverick.
Grimes is expected to be a restricted free agent this offseason and after not agreeing to a contract extension deal with Dallas earlier in the season, it had become reasonable for Grimes to get moved so that he could showcase his talents before getting a new contract deal this offseason.
Dallas will have to go out this offseason and now find another guard that can score and create their own shots. It’s clear that outside of Kyrie Irving, other ball handlers like Spencer Dinwiddie, Dante Exum, and Jaden Hardy aren’t reliable enough to score double figures in a high stakes playoff game.